Linha de Passe (2008)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Directors:

Walter Salles
Daniela Thomas

Writers:

George Moura (screenplay) and
Daniela Thomas (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 September 2008 (Brazil)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Plot:

Four brothers from an extremely poor family fight to become what they've always dreamed of being...football players.

Plot Keywords:

Pregnant Woman | Brazil | Mafia | Bus Driver | Sao Paulo Brazil

Awards:

5 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Sandra Corveloni	...	Cleuza
João Baldasserini	...	Dênis
Vinícius de Oliveira	...	Dario
José Geraldo Rodrigues	...	Dinho
Kaique Jesus Santos	...	Reginaldo
Roberto Audi	...	Pastor
Denise Weinberg	...	Estela
Ana Luiza Garritano	...	Bianca
Sérgio Mastropasqua	...	Jefferson
Renata Novaes	...	Glória
Mário César Camargo	...	Genaro
Gabriela Rabello	...	Dona Rosa
Rafael Losso	...	Bruno
Almir Barros	...	Japa
Luiz Serra	...	Coach Tiradentes

Runtime:

France:108 min | Brazil:113 min

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Brazil:16 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Cidade Líder, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Company:

Double Helix Entertainment

Trivia:

Actor Vinícius de Oliveira has been training in a football school for two years in order to prepare himself for this film.

Soundtrack:

Juízo Final

Invisible People from the Periphery

In the periphery of São Paulo, the pregnant single mother Cleuza (Sandra Corveloni) works as maid in the apartment of a middle-class family. Each of her sons has a different unknown father: the oldest, Dênis (João Baldasserini), has a baby son that lives with his mother and he works as motorcycle courier; Dinho (José Geraldo Rodrigues) is Christian converted and works as attendant in a gas station; Dario (Vinícius de Oliveira) is an aspirant soccer player that is getting older without the expected chance in a team; and the youngest, Reginaldo (Kaique Jesus Santos), is obsessed to find his black father that works as a bus driver, and spends most of his spare time traveling by bus. Along the months, each brother experiences new deceptions and expectations while the family fights to survive.

"Linha de Passe" is an overrated tale about the invisible people that live in the periphery of big cities. The characters are very realistic, but the screenplay and the edition have many cuts, and the development of the characters is very confused in the beginning. The movie also uses unnecessary footages of the Corinthians soccer team that has the second largest legion of fans in Brazil after Flamengo, maybe with the intention of increasing the box office in São Paulo. The acting is top-notch and Vinícius de Oliveira is indeed a good soccer player. The inconclusive open end is deceptive – the writers could have written a non-corny conclusion, for the good or for the bad of the characters. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Linha de Passe"