Click here to copy URL

Carandiru

2003

Héctor Babenco

Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos, Milton Gonçalves, Ivan de Almeida, Ailton Graça ...

7.2

7,089

Drama The acclaimed director of 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' dramatizes the 1992 prisoner revolt and massacre at São Paulo's infamous Carandiru penitentiary. A tender, forceful, and personal film for Babenco and ultimately an insightful metaphor of contemporary Brazilian society.

	Author	Review
United States	Michael Wilmington Chicago Tribune	"A prison movie of unusual richness and jarring power"	POS
United States	Lou Lumenick New York Post	"A terrific comeback for Babenco - it's the roughest picture of life behind bars since 'Midnight Express'"	POS
United States	Stephen Holden The New York Times	"Exudes a throbbing flesh-and-blood intensity so compelling that it's impossible to avert your eyes"	POS
United States	Michael O'Sullivan The Washington Post	"It is Carandiru's ability to humanize its central characters ... that gives the movie its wrenching, tragic power"	POS
United States	Rene Rodriguez Miami Herald	"A soft, simplistic look at a tough, complicated subject."	NEU
United States	Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle	"It has the resonant feel of myth, buoyed by simultaneously vicious and compassionate performances from the men on both sides of the bars."	POS
United States	Wesley Morris Boston Globe	"Angry and tragic, Carandiru is finally, in its own way, uplifting"	POS
United Kingdom	Jamie Russell BBC	"Funny, violent, and shocking."	POS
United States	Kevin Crust Los Angeles Times	"It plunges us deep inside a corrupt system and its sincere empathy creates a stirring mix of emotions."	POS

Return to movie

We encourage you to check the reviews' original sources. Intellectual property rights of these reviews belong to their authors and/or the correspondent media from which they have been extracted. If you'd like to help us to add more reviews to your favorite movies, just send us a message.