A journey is what all great stories are, and Praia Formosa the second part of a proposed trilogy is no different. It’s a rollercoaster ride into Brazil’s history that they’d rather forget slavery. Trafficked into the port region of Rio de Janeiro, Muanza (Lucília Raimundo) wakes up in the modern day without realising it. We see through her eyes the growth of the African diaspora in Brazil, from servitude to free-wheeling dancers, but the film doesn’t hold back with its long shots that leave viewers wondering how far we’ve come in 200 years.
The film begins with photographs showing us how wide the pier is under the tartar lies memories of countless footsteps as slaves were marched from Angola and Congo. They had to abandon everything about themselves each time they changed hands; only through this could they survive. In one scene workers sign away their lives for another uncertain chance at life; dreams and aspirations are written down with quill before being locked up in a cabinet. But there’s still hope deep inside Muanza who walks past a motorway bridge her hips swaying to some drums she hears pounding somewhere behind them.
Like Lázaro Ramos’s Executive Order (2020), Praia Formosa looks at a side of Latin American history that hasn’t been given much thought but this is better done; indeed it shows historiography with bare nerve. Yet it isn’t controversial because Simone clearly adores Pequena Africa considering where she takes us just for us to marvel at its beauty, besides being set nearly entirely there this film also doesn’t try answering any real-life Brazilian divisions as Ramos does in his work instead lets us face facts about our situation while keeping true integrity throughout portraying them onscreen.
There’s hardly any music used by Simone except for some ambient sounds taken straight out nature itself which may or may not have been purposely done meditation-wise, but that doesn’t matter the film flows like water down ports. It’s a lushly built environment: Raimundo looks stunning with those eyes showing screams that have been trapped inside her body while looking over the hell she’s called home these past few years. The person who grows within this space isn’t the same woman who could’ve grown up in Africa but she does wake up to a future sympathetic of such stunted growths, raising spirits through chants and hymns.
It’s not perfect. Some flaws include an ill-advised confession of love from master to servant and some jump cuts don’t blend well with movie’s more holistic pacing. You can’t have a low-fi setup and edit too fast between scenes. But then again, The film ends on a pitch as perfect note.
For More Movies Visit Putlocker.