If you have been acompanhando (keeping up with) the recent political history of Brazil knows that it is quite troubled and hard to entender (understand). Even Brazilians find it difficult to find explanations for how the country has mudou (changed) so much in such a short period of time, polarizing a sociedade (society) between groups to the esquerda (left) and others to the direita (right), some even with affinities to the far right. If you are curious to understand a little more about this topic, you are in the right place. Today we will recommend a work released by Netflix and that has been getting quite a media buzz over the past few weeks.

The Edge of Democracy (or Democracia em Vertigem in Portuguese) is a documentary film made by brazilian filmmaker Petra Costa that focuses mainly on the years from 2002 to 2018, a period that includes a ascensão e declínio (the rise and fall) of the Workers’ Party (PT or Partido dos Trabalhadores), whose figuras principais (lead figures) are former presidents Lula and Dilma Roussef. However, her narrative is not only about the institutional and macro-political instability of this period, but also brings a personal and intimate ponto de vista (viewpoint), as she narrates and exposes the spectator to her personal afflictions and confessions, in a voice-over almost entirely in the first person perspective.

These afflictions and confessions stem from a complicated relationship within the director’s own upbringing. On the one hand she comes from a wealthy and traditional family, whose grandfather owns a large Brazilian construction company, which prospered during the Military Dictatorship and was only recently condenada (convicted) of active corruption. On the other hand, her parents were left-wing militants during the military regime who, after being tortured, became refugiados políticos (political refugees). The director intertwines these stories with Brazil’s own in recent years, combining her own family’s home movies and other imagens de bastidores (behind-the-scenes footage), such as the moment the former president of Brazil witnesses her own impeachment in a room with her advisors.

Even though it has been avaliado (rated) by the New York Times and The Guardian as one of the best films of the year and with high chances of ganhar (winning) the Oscar, as resenhas (reviews) in Brazil have been less flattering, pointing at some issues about The Edge of Democracy. One of the main points of criticism is that the work does not hide its sympathy for the left-wing figures of the Workers Party, placing its main personagens (characters) as symbols of Brazilian democracy.

However, The Edge of Democracy is a rather didactic film about the turbulence experienced in recent years by Brazilian politics, which is disponível (available) on the Netflix platform. Were you curious to watch the work of Petra Costa and tirar suas próprias conclusões (draw your own conclusions)? Click on the link below to check out the official trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLe24M_PB5E