This is a thorny thriller that kind of works on the most basic level, but fails as a film that wants to say more about (Brazilian) society
The plot of the film has a well off husband and wife heading to their farm in the country in a new armored SUV. The wife was the victim of an attempted kidnaping and become reclusive. They arrive just as the workers on the farm have been informed that they are being sent off because the land is being sold to make a luxury hotel…and they aren’t getting owed wages because they were all essentially working as indentured servants and they have to pay back certain monies. The workers have decided to take the land and everything on it as their own. Things quickly spiral out of control and the woman is left locked in the car alone with lots of angry homicidal people outside.
I really didn’t like this film much. The problem is that the film is so stacked against everyone and everything there really is no one and nothing to root for. The rich couple are an annoying rich couple who are abusing their help. If the wife wasn’t suffering from trauma there would be no reason to side with her. The help are seen to be abused by the system, but at the same time are portrayed as monsters. Their desire to destroy their masters is understandable but at the same time they are not anyone we can root for either. Everyone sucks so why not let them have at it?
Because PROPERTY wants to be a be more than a thriller it falls on its face. You can’t want to explore social dynamics like this and paint everyone in a bad light. If there is no grey only black there is no real way to have a meaningful discussion. I mean what can you say the rich are bad and need to be taken down a notch, and while the poor are abused by the system, they are really animals so they so it was okay for them to lash out? Honestly they have to be portrayed as animals since it's thats the only way they can make the suspense last.
On the other hand if you can ignore all of the political social commentary the film is a good thriller. There is a real tension to being trapped in something that will keep you safe but not giving you an exit. On that most basic level PROPERTY is good.
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