critics consensus

Assembled with absorbing insight and passion by director Petra Costa, The Edge of Democracy is a disturbing and expansive overview of how a democratic nation can teeter into autocracy. Read critic reviews

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Movie Info

The beleaguered leaders of Brazil are followed as they deal with their ideologically divided country.

Genre:

drama, history, documentary
Original Language:

Portuguese (Brazil)
Director:

Petra Costa
Producer:

Joanna Natasegara, Tiago Pavan, Petra Costa
Writer:

Petra Costa, Carol Pires, David Barker, Moara Passoni
Release Date (Theaters):

Jun 19, 2019 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Jun 19, 2019
Runtime:

1h 53m
Production Co:

Busca Vida Filmes, Netflix

Cast & Crew

Dilma Rousseff

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Marisa Letícia Lula Da Silva

Sérgio Moro

Eduardo Cunha

Jair Bolsonaro

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Critic Reviews for The Edge of Democracy

All Critics (36) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (35) | Rotten (1)

This works very well as both a primer on the tumultuous last several years of Brazilian politics and also as a very passionate personal essay film.

October 1, 2019 | Full Review…

Justin Chang
FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Costa manages to craft an intimate primer about the state's descent into populism and the fraying of the country's democratic fabric.

June 21, 2019 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Leslie Felperin
Guardian
Engrossing...

June 20, 2019 | Full Review…

Ela Bittencourt
NPR
[Petra Costa] seems utterly incapable of crafting a frame that is lacking in urgency or vibrance.

June 20, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Matt Fagerholm
RogerEbert.com
An angry, intimate, and haunting portrait of Brazil's recent slide back into the open jaws of dictatorship.

June 19, 2019 | Rating: B | Full Review…

David Ehrlich
indieWire
The Edge of Democracy is not an impartial piece of journalistic filmmaking; indeed, Costa makes no pretensions to objectivity. She weaves in her own family's story and the film takes on the quality of a lament.

June 19, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

Alissa Wilkinson
Vox
[T]he footage of mass progressive mobilizations serves as a timely reminder that there are countless like-minded people that are outraged and ready to push back to defend the rights they have attained over the decades.

November 20, 2020 | Full Review…

Derick Gomez
PopMatters
Petra Costa's Oscar-winning documentary, stalking the rise and fall of two Brazilian Presidents during the country's socio-political crisis, is unflinchingly personal, and challenges our perception of "political" filmmaking.

October 28, 2020 | Full Review…

Film Companion Staff
Film Companion
[Has] the rhythm and intensity of a political thriller. [Full review in Spanish]

June 29, 2020 | Full Review…

Carlos Bonfil
La Jornada
The Edge of Democracy is visually powerful and also benefits from behind-the-scenes access to Lula, Dilma, and their advisers that would be the envy of any filmmaker or journalist.

May 29, 2020 | Full Review…

Larry Rohter
The New York Review of Books
This very the personal is political documentary looks at the presidencies of Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff.

March 19, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

Carey-Ann Pawsey
Orca Sound
There's a lot of ground to cover, but Costa keeps a strong grip on the material

February 13, 2020 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film