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Favela Rising

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Favela Rising (2006)

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Reviews Counted: 19

Fresh: 12

Rotten:7

Average Rating: 6.7/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 82 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Theatrical Release:Jun 2, 2006 Limited

Synopsis: Jeff Zimbalist and Matt Mochary's documentary is a major achievement in nonfiction filmmaking, a vibrant, important work that is as inspiring as it is tragic. The narrative centers on Anderson Sá,... Jeff Zimbalist and Matt Mochary's documentary is a major achievement in nonfiction filmmaking, a vibrant, important work that is as inspiring as it is tragic. The narrative centers on Anderson Sá, a distinguished-looking young man who grew up in the worst of Rio di Janiero's infamously violent favelas, Vigário Geral. Though most residents of this extremely impoverished community do their best to cobble together a piecemeal living, the neighborhood is ruled over by murderous drug lords, whose average age of death is between 14 and 25 years old. In 1993, after one of these men murdered a few notoriously corrupt cops, the military police retaliated by brutally, and randomly, murdering 21 innocent favela residents. One of these victims was Sá's younger brother. Rather than allow the anger and despair to propel him into a place of darkness and revenge, Sá decided to stop the cycle of violence, using the universal language of music as his conduit to social awareness and rebellion. Mobilizing like-minded friends and musicians, he started a newsletter and a band to perform his upbeat, yet courageously honest music, which featured lyrics about the massacre and police brutality. The filmmakers track Sá's project as it evolves from a small newsletter to a bona fide national music, with childhood musical education being a top priority. Beautifully shot, with visually stunning graphic elements added, FAVELA RISING brings vibrance and color to one of the most downtrodden settings on earth, imbuing its people with honor. The access the filmmakers got to the residents, from regular families to masked men with machine guns, is incredible. In the end though, it is the music that is the real star of the show, which demonstrates the truly remarkable power of song and rhythm to transform lives. [More]

Starring: Anderson Sa

Starring: Anderson Sa

Director: Jeff Zimbalist, Matt Mochary

Director: Jeff Zimbalist, Matt Mochary
Producer: Matt Mochary, Jeff Zimbalist
Studio: ThinkFilm

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Release:

Mar 13, 2007

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Reviews for Favela Rising

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Like City of God and Bus 174 before it, Favela Rising is about as raw as it comes. This is not an apologetic film, but rather one that looks for the bright side in a bleak situation.

Full Review Source: Movie Views | comment Comment
03/22/07
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/01/06
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

... an uneven, spasmodic film.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
08/13/06
Steven Winn
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[The directors] junk up the telling of Sa's story with overworked editing, unnecessary graphic clutter and a confounding habit of using dubbed-over music on the live concert footage.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
08/08/06
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

A remarkable story of transformation and challenge on several levels, some completely unexpected.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
08/03/06
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Elevated by fantastic performance footage of Sa and his young protégés singing, dancing and rhythmically banging on cans, plastic bottles or anything else that can be fashioned into a drum -- and a cultural revolution.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
08/03/06
Ernest Hardy
L.A. Weekly

As a piece of documentary filmmaking, it's more a matter of excellent intentions than effective technique--a potentially powerful short doc stretched into a theatre length yawner.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
07/26/06
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Favela Rising can't seem to find its center.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
07/14/06
Ted Fry
Seattle Times

An inspirational portrait of an unwanted kid who brought culture to a world that had known only violence.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
07/13/06
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A movie that is compelling and moving. It's also an artfully filmed and edited study of a real 'rhythm nation.'

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
07/07/06
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

Using a visual style of oversaturated colors that seem to leap off the screen, Mochary and Zimbalist offer an unforgettable portrait of the favelas, where young men openly polish their machine guns and a bullet-riddled body may lie around any corner.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
07/07/06
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

You couldn't find a setting that's more hopeless than the crime-ridden slums of Rio de Janeiro, and yet Jeff Zimbalist and Michael Mochary tell a story that's unabashedly uplifting as well as emotionally raw.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
07/06/06
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Watching it all replayed is simply a life-changing experience.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
07/06/06
Lindy T. Shepherd
Orlando Weekly
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out

There's a raw, edgy power to this documentary, which takes a distinctly positive approach to a difficult situation.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
06/06/06
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Success depicted here is sweet and inspirational. But moviegoers may long for a dramatized, less narrated picture of the process involved.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
06/05/06
Donald J. Levit
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Matt Mochary and Jeff Zimbalist's documentary traces the history of Grupo Afro-Reggae, a community-based action group that arose in Vigario Geral, one of the notorious favelas (slums) that ring Rio de Janeiro.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
06/02/06
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

All in all, the movement turned out to be a godsend for Rio natives, but the film is merely a pep rally.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
05/31/06
Michael Atkinson
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A daring and emotional documentary.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
05/31/06
Erik Pedersen
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An uplifting story that's well worth telling, but the directors rather lose sight of the wider sociological ramifications to iconise a figurehead whose courage is couched in almost miraculous terms.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/27/06
Patrick Peters
Empire Magazine
 
 
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