Benzinho (2018)

Directed by: Gustavo Pizzi | 98 minutes | drama | Actors: Karine Teles, Otávio Müller, Adriana Esteves, Konstantinos Sarris, César Troncoso, Mateus Solano, Camilo Pellegrini, Ariclenes Barroso, Pablo Riera, Lucas Gouvêa

Loving but with a strong character. That’s Irene, heroine of the Brazilian drama ‘Benzinho’. Irene rules a family of husband, handball son, tuba-playing son and toddler twins. Unfortunately, the shop of husband Klaus is not going well, the tuba-playing son Rodrigo eats way too much, the door of the house is terminally broken and sister Sonia (including son) who has run away from her alcoholic husband also enters.

Despite all this setback, Irene keeps her head above water until the day her 16-year-old son Fernando announces that he is going to play handball professionally in Germany and is leaving the family nest. Well, you can do a lot to a South American mother, but not that.

In ‘Benzinho’ we stay a few days with this warm-blooded family. The film follows two tracks, each depicting a different side of the overarching theme. We experience the economic hardship of the family, mainly due to Father Klaus’s dubious business instinct. In addition, we follow the spiritual and practical preparation for the approaching departure of Fernando.

‘Benzinho’ shows the pros and cons of an above-average strong family bond. We see how the economic setbacks are shared together and how each family member supports the other when things go a bit less. But we also see how difficult it is when one of the members breaks away from the family and leaves the rest orphans.

There is nothing to criticize about this drama. We enjoy the family dynamics, the little domestic scenes, like when the slightly overweight Klaus and Rodrigo raid the fridge together at night or when pretty much the whole family helps pack for Fernando. The most beautiful scene is when the (usually) balanced Irene puts on wireless headphones and goes all out on Brazilian bouncing music.

Cinematically, ‘Benzinho’ sometimes wants to please a little too much. Forced compositions, forced use of color (as in the beginning, when the twins with red umbrellas brave the rain), and forced characters, such as the red-bearded clothing seller Ligia. On the other hand, there is beautiful acting, especially by title interpreter Karine Teles, there is plenty of room for humor and the drama never gets out of hand. So not much to complain about. Lovely heroine, lovely family, fine summer film.