This short tribute almost escaped me in terms of getting a true notion of what it was about but I made it through and understood what was going on. In "A Lua Luta por
Lula" ("The Moon Fights for Lula" - the title gets a higher meaning/purpose in Portuguese since the two main words plus a personality name all contain the same letters
for most of its constitution), director Jomard Muniz de Britto makes a homage to then union leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a rising figure who led several strikes on
automobile industries in the late 1970's against the exploitation from bosses and better working conditions from workers, and at the time of this piece he had funded a
political party (PT, the Workers Party) and was already considering an important political figure.
In the tribute, the director presents a repetitive song that demonstrates his importance and why the moon fights for him (a couple of pictures of Lula during those strikes are presented). With that last enigmatic part, we see the moon in the darkness, cars headlights shining in the dark, which illustrates the period everybody was living then with many uncertainties in the social and political scene yet there was always a light of hope at the end of it all, and to the director it was in the figure of Lula that such could be evidenced. That kind of feeling went on for several decades, with the man losing several presidential elections - he was considered a controversial figure then due to his humbly origins and lack of a higher education and businessmen were terrified of him due to his socialism inclinations. But he never gave up, and he'd become Brazil's president for three terms, a first ever since the foundation of Republic in 1889.
Simple, poetic and very effective, this piece by Britto is a real important testament of a long-by era where little known yet reliable politicians fell on the grace of the crowd and became the nation's savior. With everything that was presented, which also includes some phrases telling that the people wanted to vote, it was a way to see the fight for democracy in the final years of the military regime (the first direct elections would happen a year after the movie but only to select state's governors; the presidential one - where Lula ran for the first time would only happen in 1989). Nice use of metaphorical images and the song is pretty good too. 6/10.
In the tribute, the director presents a repetitive song that demonstrates his importance and why the moon fights for him (a couple of pictures of Lula during those strikes are presented). With that last enigmatic part, we see the moon in the darkness, cars headlights shining in the dark, which illustrates the period everybody was living then with many uncertainties in the social and political scene yet there was always a light of hope at the end of it all, and to the director it was in the figure of Lula that such could be evidenced. That kind of feeling went on for several decades, with the man losing several presidential elections - he was considered a controversial figure then due to his humbly origins and lack of a higher education and businessmen were terrified of him due to his socialism inclinations. But he never gave up, and he'd become Brazil's president for three terms, a first ever since the foundation of Republic in 1889.
Simple, poetic and very effective, this piece by Britto is a real important testament of a long-by era where little known yet reliable politicians fell on the grace of the crowd and became the nation's savior. With everything that was presented, which also includes some phrases telling that the people wanted to vote, it was a way to see the fight for democracy in the final years of the military regime (the first direct elections would happen a year after the movie but only to select state's governors; the presidential one - where Lula ran for the first time would only happen in 1989). Nice use of metaphorical images and the song is pretty good too. 6/10.