Medusa
A vigilante group of religious zealots targets ‘loose women’ in Anita Rocha da Silveira’s garish slice of satirical sci-fi horror.
The Brazilian writer/director Anita Rocha da Silveira follows the story of 21-year-old Mariana (Mari Oliveira), a dedicated member of a deeply conservative Christian sect. She and her female friends spend most of their time celebrating the life of Jesus with both song and dance. They also take part in religious practices and rituals, but then late at night they put on their faceless masks and become a brutal vigilante group... Their aim is to violently attack women, whom they consider to be sinners, and to teach them a lesson as they walk alone in the streets. But when one night an attack goes terribly wrong, Mariana begins to question their violent activities and volunteers to become a nurse in a plastic surgery clinic…
Anita Rocha da Silveira’s distinct vision creates a dark psychological thriller expressed in vivid, bright colours that recall the work of David Lynch and Dario Argento. Leos Carax’s extraordinary Holy Motors also comes to mind. It is both an attack on religion and modern society’s paranoia and obsession for perfection told in an original fashion, albeit at too great a length.
GEORGE SAVVIDES
Cast: Mari Oliveira, Lara Tremouroux, Joana Medeiros, Felipe Frazao, Thiago Fragoso, Bruna G, Bruna Linzmeyer, Thiago Fragoso.
Dir Anita Rocha da Silveira, Pro Vania Catani, Fernanda Thurann and Mayra Faour Auad, Screenplay Anita Rocha da Silveira, Ph Joao Atala, Pro Des Dina Salem Levy, Ed Marilia Moraes, Music Bernardo Uzeda and Anita Rocha da Silveira, Sound Bernardo Uzeda.
Bananeira Filmes/Telecine/Canal Brasil/Cajamanga/Brisa Filmes/My Mama Entertainment-Peccadillo Pictures.
132 mins. Brazil. 2001. US Rel: 29 July 2022. UK Rel: 14 July 2023. Cert. 15.
