Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Brazilian Comedy in Claudio Torres' "The Invisible Woman"




I am trying to remember any Brazilian comedy I've watched as I write this, but nothing comes to mind. Most of the films I've seen from that country were dramas, and since we've a lot of Brazilians making a living in the Philippines, I might as well try to understand them through films. What makes Daniel Matsunaga, Fabio Ide and Akihiro Sato laugh?

Director Claudio Torres' comedy "The Invisible Woman" gives a partial answer. A 32 year old traffic controller Pedro (Selton Mello) falls to pieces when his girlfriend Lucia (Fernanda Torres) dumps him for a German guy. But little did he know that his next door neighbor Vitoria (Maria Manoella) has been spying on him all these years. Vitoria is married to an unaffectionate police man who eventually succumbs to a heart attack. Soon after Pedro's marital troubles, he starts imagining a bombshell Amanda (Luana Piovani) coming on to him, but is she real? Pedro's best friend Carlos (Vladimir Brichta) doesn't think so. Has Pedro gone bonkers? What will happen to the infatuated Vitoria?

Charming actors buoy fantastical situations and character that will have you guessing, is Pedro really going nuts? Or was it the spoiled tuna? (He was later admitted for food poisoning secondary to a canned tuna.) There is a certain sweetness in Vitoria's unrequited affection to her disturbed neighbor. When Pedro started taking his date to watch movies, or for candlelit dinners, we just knew that something wasn't right with Pedro. But his scenes at the dance club were just too funny to miss.

Light weight Brazilian comedy with charming actors. I've a winking smugness. Isn't that a joy?



Elevator scene



Luana Piovani is beautiful and statuesque Amanda. Is she real or not?



Maria Manoella is Vittoria who's infatuated with his next door neighbor Pedro.







Vladimir Brichta as Carlos, Pedro's best friend. He fell in love with Vitoria.



Selton Mello who looks like Brazil's version of Colin Firth.



Selton Mello is a multi-awarded Brazilian actor.



2 comments:

Mon said...

i wonder how you got hold of the episodes of a mulher invisivel. i have been trying to find a copy with english suhs but i couldn't find any. please send me a message where i can get the subbed videos. thanks. rqacosta@gmail.com

Cathy Pena said...

Mon:

Episodes? I didn't have the impression that this was a TV series. Anyway, I got my copy sort of "accidentally" from some DVD shop in KL. In fact, it was in a "Sale" rack. :)