High Rises: Brazilian Documentary Exposes the Lives of Rio's Elite.

Written by Sonia Almanza and Ale Gambaro on Sunday, 05 July 2009 14:31

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High Rises (Um Lugar ao Sol) is a thought provoking Brazilian documentary about the very few Brazilian elite who live in high rise penthouses over Rio de Janeiro. Alessandro and I were pleased to have seen it before it debuts in the US and especially before it debuts in Brazil. Why? Well because when these people see how completely absurd they are in this film there may be some uproar.

Between the beaches and the sprawling impoverished favelas that snake up the steep hillsides of Rio are a series of luxury high rise hotels and apartment buildings. One must have money to live in here but of course only a select few have the means to live at the very top. Interestingly there are a great deal of young people who live here - there are a lot of new rich in Brazil.

The film opens up with a young gay couple who had been gifted their penthouse by one of their parents. Their's is the most stylishy decorated penthouse in the film but they are on good company with other trust-fund babies who all say things along the lines of, "my parents worked hard to afford me this lifestyle." The part that had us howling with laughter was the small family of three. There is an older quiet businesslike gentleman, his outspoken wife and their son who seems to be in his early twenties. The wife speaks about the advantages of living so high up away from the realities of the poverty below. She has in a way created her own reality in order to maintain the comfortable beauty of her life. She speaks about the Dona Marta Favela (slum) which is behind their home and says how she like to think of the shacks as colorful little dollhouses and that the bullets that fly at night are like beautiful fireworks.
We continue on our journey through the stories of eleven penthouse dwellers and the main theme is that "we live above everything and everybody." It is not only this first lady who recreates her reality to suit her. They are all a bit out of touch. One lady was annoyed by the sounds of her servants clanking the pots and pans," but is thankful that that takes place on another floor so that she has peace and privacy. Another incredibly claims that, "we can talk to God more easily from up here."

Sonia: So Ale what is your take on High Rises?

Ale: Its a very good documentary and I think that these rich people in particular are completely out of touch with reality and instead of trying to help their country with all the money that they have, they isolate themselves.

Sonia: I completely agree with you. There are some characters in this film who are obviously handed their wealth however there are also a few who you can tell worked their way up the hard way. For instance the man who owned the gentleman's club is a very hard worker, proud of the amount of employees he now has, but even he says some absolutley ridiculous things.

Ale: Oh yeah, the man who felt bad when he saw a poor person without a Jaguar?

Sonia: Hahaha, yes that guy. His whole spiel was how he is drunk with power. He came up the hard way but becoming rich doesn't necessarily mean you automatically gain a sense of social responsibility.

Ale: Another interesting thing is that the director, Gabriel Mascaro, needed 3 years to edit the movie after he shot the footage: he was very young and he had to mature to better understand the wealthy and the real Brazil. When he was asked, "What do you think of the characters in the film?" His response was, "I don't believe in what the people are saying as I am not part of this social group."

Sonia: I thought that was an interesting point which was brought up during the Q&A. I also think that it was perfect timing that he shot the film when he was too young and didn't have any prejudices towards his subjects. He said that this was the reason they opened up to him so much, "I was young, I think they spoke freely. I learned that I needed to make the film that I wanted to make and I don't think that they would have spoken as freely with a big director."

Ale: Another point touched during the Q&A was that Mascaro choose not to show the slums because they already have a voice in the Brazilian popular films already made.

Sonia: Sure, this is true, we've all seen City of God and Favela Rising. Mascaro said he wanted to, "avoid a contradiction which is already explicit." What about the crazy older woman with the cool glasses who had embalmed her dead dog that she had named after the first President Bush!

Ale: That lady was interesting because she is stopped talking to him when asked about the security of the penthouse. You can really see how paranoid she was! Also the Mascaro had to sign a contract where he could not show names or addresses of the rich people he interviewed.

Sonia: Well her son was yap yap yapping away about all of the cameras that they had installed and where they were. After hearing the other's stories about how the tenants below them would systematically have their homes invaded, I really don't blame her. She felt exposed and uncomfortable. At least she was aware of the reality outside. It was the directors intention that the film
discuss Brazilian relations based on architecture and I feel this particular sequence really did well to illustrate that.

Ale: In fact in the opening shot the camera shoots a mirrored building as it ascends up to the penthouse not only to show the image of the city but also to provoke an image to invite poeple to create their own idea of the film.

Sonia: That was great. You are climbing up a beautiful modern building but the favelas are what is reflected.

Ale: It was interesting verticalization of the urban view from the rich peoples perspective.

Sonia: I highly recommend that people see High Rises.

Ale: Its a good documentary, but I don't highly recommend it. It pissed me off.

Sonia: Well sure I was pissed off too by their blissful unawareness, but I found it also to be highly entertaining.

http://www.simiofilmes.com/umlugaraosol/en/

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