or Assault on the Pay Train
starring Eliezer Gomes, Reginaldo Faria, Jorge Doria
directed by Roberto Farias
102 minutes
in Portuguese with English subtitles
Six men rob a train. One of them explains to the others that they have to maintain a low profile. He threatens to kill anyone who spends more than 10 percent of their take from the robbery. Things seem good at first but cracks in the foundation of their group start to take shape and the group is pulled apart. Things get worse when the police catch one of the train robbers.
I saw this movie as part of the Noir City DC 2024 film festival. It was the front half of a double feature. The back half of the double feature was Armored Car Robbery (1950). I think that the thread that connects them should be fairly obvious based on the titles.
Eddie Muller was supposed to introduce the film but he didn't show up until after the movie was over. He spoke then for about 10 minutes about this movie, the one that followed it, and noir films in general.
I think that this is the first Brazilian movie I have even seen.
This is a thoughtfully made movie but I found it to be a bit wanting. The plot seems to veer all over the place without much of a sense of direction during the first half of the movie. The story seems to settle down and get more focused during the second half.
The music is good and some scenes are shot from interesting and innovative angles. This is a decent film with some social commentary but it just didn't excite me. I didn't feel drawn into it.
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