Heleno (2012)
Average Rating: 5.4/10
Reviews Counted: 12
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 7
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 5.4/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 3
No consensus yet.
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Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 178
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Movie Info
Gifted with incredible athletic talent, Brazilian-born Heleno de Freitas conquered the soccer world in the 1940s. As his fame and fortune grew to new heights, his passion for a decadent life of women and nightclubs threatened his career. Featuring an Awards-caliber performance by Rodrigo Santoro (300, What to Expect When You're Expecting), Heleno depicts the thrilling life of the world's first sports superstar. (c) Screen Media
Dec 7, 2012 Limited
Mar 4, 2013
Screen Media Ventures
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All Critics (12) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (5) | Rotten (7)
There's just so much one can care about this star athlete and his self-destructive journey.
Top CriticWhat you get instead of soccer is almost two hours of late-stage syphilis.
Equal parts temper and tenderness, lust and incaution, "Heleno" is short on specifics but long on impression.
José Henrique Fonseca's handsome black-and-white, impressionistic bio-drama goes very Raging Bull-ish, to tell a piece of the story of Heleno de Freitas, a Brazilian soccer star with matinee-idol charisma.
You're stuck daydreaming about a far, far better movie.
From its flash-forward framing sequence to its glossy black and white images, the film emulates Raging Bull in nearly every particular, while failing to capture even a sliver of that tortured-soul sports-movie's insight or visceral power.
The script rarely digs beneath the surface of its intriguing subject.
A shallow glimpse into the life of Heleno de Freitas that's anchored by breathtaking black-and-white cinematography and a bravura, raw performance by Rodrigo Santoro. It ultimately nourishes your heart more than your mind.
Heleno might have been stronger by better avoiding the clichés of its genre-yet there are still benefits to this stylish work.
[C]uriously all but avoids the game -- except for a few opportunities for Heleno, a hothead with no self-control, to berate and abuse his teammates -- in favor of a lurid focus on his other public exploits.
The film hints at a kicky, impressionistic style that director José Henrique Fonseca never effectively employs to actually communicate Heleno de Freitas's demons.
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Biographical productions, not always result in exceptional films, in most cases the focus totally dedicated to one character makes it difficult to work creatively important aspects such as direction and screenplay.
Often follows a simplistic scheme where everyone who gets the spotlight is the protagonist, and thus, all other features are now in the background.
At this point the biopic soccer player Heleno de Freitas is no exception to the rule. Rodrigo Santoro owns the film, and thus, "Heleno" is nonetheless a cinematic experience incomplete.
That said, we have here one of the best performances of recent years in film from Brazil. The Heleno's Santoro is multifaceted as real human beings, capable of provoking sympathy and contempt almost simultaneously.
The content quite heavy and often tragic - because we have here the classic trajectory of rise and fall of a phenomenon leaks - does not prevent Santoro to shine in every scene, whether in moments of euphoric jingoism of fame, or the deepest depression brought the disease.
It remains to warn that this is not a production for those who are looking of what is fun and exciting in the world of football, but in some reflection on arrogance towards life, as most of the films that revive superstars.
8.0/10.0