Brazil is known for its beautiful beaches, lush rain forests, and vibrant culture. However, in recent years, the country has developed more of a reputation for corrupt politicians, kidnapping, and plastic surgery. Manda Bala (Send a Bullet) artfully connects these seemingly disparate elements and conducts a dazzling, yet harrowing, examination of the tragic domino effect that has reshaped the face of the country and created an entire industry built on corruption.
From its unlikely opening on a money-laundering frog farm, Manda Bala displays a strikingly distinctive tone. Featuring a stylish score and articulate interviews with kidnappers, kidnap victims, and the people who profit off them, as well as the paranoid people whose lives they impact, it looks and sounds more like a stylized fiction film than a heavy political doc. However, it is never glib or trivial, and always inventive and haunting. It documents Brazilian reality without falling into patronizing clichés and reveals that corruption and kidnapping represent two sides of the same violent crime: the rich steal from the poor people of Brazil, while the poor steal back some of the rich people.
First-time director Jason Kohn shows the influence of his mentor Errol Morris but bravely carves out his own unique style. Manda Bala is an ingenious documentary in the vanguard of what will hopefully be a new wave of documentary filmmaking. — Trevor Groth, Sundance Institute
- GRAND JURY PRIZE, Best Documentary, Sundance Film Festival, 2007
- EXCELLENCE IN CINEMATOGRAPHY, Sundance Film Festival, 2007
"One of the most powerful movies I've seen in years"- Errol Morris
"Loads of dark humor and cinematic flaire" - Variety
"Kohn, who shot Manda Bala in lush widescreen format and makes deft use of Brazilian pop music to give the film a cleverly incongruous soundtrack, is intent on making a picture that is as visceral to watch as it is to contemplate". - Miami Herald
"Made with energy and style..." - Los Angles Times
New York Times
Stephem Holden
August 17, 2007
“Manda Bala” (“Send a Bullet”), a flashy documentary about corruption, injustice and frog farming in Brazil, is a weird hybrid of political exposé and sensationalistic fluff. As it flip-flops between one mode and the other, it suggests a combination of “Darwin’s Nightmare,” the recent deadly serious French documentary about the despoiling of Lake Victoria, and “Mondo Cane,” the sensationalistic 1962 film that inaugurated a genre of globe-trotting documentary voyeurism.
Produced and directed by Jason Kohn, “Manda Bala,” which was named best documentary at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is packed with bad news that isn’t nearly as fresh as the movie pretends. It has already been widely reported that in São Paulo, a city of 20 million where the rich live side by side with the destitute, an epidemic of kidnappings has produced a thriving business in bulletproof cars. Read more.
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