Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)
Encyclopedia
Manda Bala is a U.S.
documentary film
directed by Jason Kohn about corruption
and kidnapping
in Brazil
.
Kohn has said "I really thought of Manda Bala as a non-fiction RoboCop
depicting a very real, broken, and violent society." It premiered January 20, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
where it won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary and the Excellence in Cinematography award. It had a limited release in North America beginning on August 17, 2007. On March 18, 2008, Manda Bala won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking at the inaugural Cinema Eye Honors
.
, a powerful Brazilian politician from the state of Pará
who used a frog farm for money laundering
, and the owner of the frog farm himself (see SUDAM).
The film details many of the reasons for Brazil's corruption including the fact that politicians in office there are exempt from civilian court proceedings, with the consequence that they will never be punished for crimes they commit in office. Another factor — and the other driving point of the film — is the ubiquity of kidnapping in Brazil, which ensures that the likelihood of redressing these crimes is fairly low and that someone's enemies (political or otherwise) are apt to disappear fairly easily.
Businessman: after telling a story about how he was robbed while sitting in traffic, he discusses how unsafe he feels driving in São Paulo and decided to start bulletproofing cars because being without a bulletproof car "would be crazy".
Head of Kidnapping Unit: talks about how commonplace kidnappings are and how difficult they are to resolve successfully and his belief that the government should be involved in solving and preventing kidnappings. Also shows off some of his bullet scars from his dangerous line of work.
Victim: a victim of a kidnapping who had her ears cut off goes into detail about how her captors made her sleep in cramped quarters with only a bucket to use the bathroom, a TV blaring Hitchcock films, and how they sent pieces of her ear to her family.
Federal Police Marshal: discusses the details of his investigation into the frog farm's money laundering and corruption and how the initial evidence was gathered against Jader Barbahlo.
Kidnapper: Discusses how a kidnapping is planned and what happens when a person cannot pay their ransom and also about how he and his organization take care of the poor when they need it, paving streets, giving out food, and other various projects. He then compares himself to a politician that gives to the poor instead of the ones that are in place that have forgotten the poor. Not shown in the film, the kidnapper was later shot by the police in late 2006.
Jader Barbalho: Discusses the Amazon region (the poorest region of Brazil), why SUDAM failed, and when the subject of the Frog Farm comes up, he responds that "I would need more time to talk to you about that, but this is....this is no" and promptly ends the interview.
based on 45 reviews. On Metacritic
, the film had a score of 74 out of 100 based on 5 reviews.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Jason Kohn about corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
and kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
Kohn has said "I really thought of Manda Bala as a non-fiction RoboCop
RoboCop
RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
depicting a very real, broken, and violent society." It premiered January 20, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
2007 Sundance Film Festival
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007 in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival...
where it won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary and the Excellence in Cinematography award. It had a limited release in North America beginning on August 17, 2007. On March 18, 2008, Manda Bala won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking at the inaugural Cinema Eye Honors
Cinema Eye Honors
The Cinema Eye Honors is an award which celebrates nonfiction films and filmmakers, recognizing the breadth of the genre and includes the crafts of cinematography, editing, producing, directing, etc. It was first presented at the IFC Center in New York City on March 18, 2008...
.
Synopsis
Manda Bala profiles such subjects as a businessman who bullet-proofs his cars, a plastic surgeon who reconstructs the ears of kidnap victims, former Governor and Senator Jáder BarbalhoJáder Barbalho
Jader Fontenelle Barbalho is a Brazilian politician, businessman and landowner from the state of Pará. He is currently a member of the PMDB party and a Senator for Pará...
, a powerful Brazilian politician from the state of Pará
Pará
Pará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...
who used a frog farm for money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, and the owner of the frog farm himself (see SUDAM).
The film details many of the reasons for Brazil's corruption including the fact that politicians in office there are exempt from civilian court proceedings, with the consequence that they will never be punished for crimes they commit in office. Another factor — and the other driving point of the film — is the ubiquity of kidnapping in Brazil, which ensures that the likelihood of redressing these crimes is fairly low and that someone's enemies (political or otherwise) are apt to disappear fairly easily.
Interview subjects
Frog Farmer: a frog farmer who genuinely enjoys his trade. His wife asked him to make a choice, keep her or keep the frogs. The frog farmer chose the frogs. The frog farms were used by Jader Barbalho to illegally launder money.Businessman: after telling a story about how he was robbed while sitting in traffic, he discusses how unsafe he feels driving in São Paulo and decided to start bulletproofing cars because being without a bulletproof car "would be crazy".
Head of Kidnapping Unit: talks about how commonplace kidnappings are and how difficult they are to resolve successfully and his belief that the government should be involved in solving and preventing kidnappings. Also shows off some of his bullet scars from his dangerous line of work.
Victim: a victim of a kidnapping who had her ears cut off goes into detail about how her captors made her sleep in cramped quarters with only a bucket to use the bathroom, a TV blaring Hitchcock films, and how they sent pieces of her ear to her family.
Federal Police Marshal: discusses the details of his investigation into the frog farm's money laundering and corruption and how the initial evidence was gathered against Jader Barbahlo.
Kidnapper: Discusses how a kidnapping is planned and what happens when a person cannot pay their ransom and also about how he and his organization take care of the poor when they need it, paving streets, giving out food, and other various projects. He then compares himself to a politician that gives to the poor instead of the ones that are in place that have forgotten the poor. Not shown in the film, the kidnapper was later shot by the police in late 2006.
Jader Barbalho: Discusses the Amazon region (the poorest region of Brazil), why SUDAM failed, and when the subject of the Frog Farm comes up, he responds that "I would need more time to talk to you about that, but this is....this is no" and promptly ends the interview.
Awards
- Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.
- Excellence in Cinematography Award: Documentary for Heloisa Passos at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.
- Winner of the Special Grand Jury Prize at the 2007 BritDoc Film Festival
- Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking at the Cinema Eye Honors
- Outstanding Achievement in Editing at the Cinema Eye Honors
- Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography at the Cinema Eye Honors
Critical reception
As of May 12, 2008, the film had a score of 80% on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
based on 45 reviews. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film had a score of 74 out of 100 based on 5 reviews.
External links
- Manda Bala at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Manda Bala at Short End Magazine
- Manda Bala at Sundance.org
- Manda Bala Review at Intermídias (Portuguese)
- Manda Bala Review at Overmundo