To protect herself from a revolt by the workers on her family’s farm, a reclusive woman locks herself in her own armored car. Separated by a layer of glass, two universes are about to collide.
Ever since the sensational crime epic “City of God” and the searing prison drama “Carandiru,” Brazilian filmmakers have continued to create some of the most notable pictures in the last 20 years. A fair number of these filmmakers pay homage to the classics they grew up with back when Hollywood was making great films. In “Property,” the direction by Daniel Bandeira recalls Sam Peckinpah, John Carpenter, Sergio Leone, and other cinematic heavyweights. Peckinpah for the film’s unexpected bloodshed and roaring editing. Leone comes through during its intimate portraits of characters sweaty and scheming. And Carpenter’s influence is seen during its genre mixing with a heaping of gritty lyricism. “Property’s” opening credits also resemble Sergio Sollimas’s similarly washed-out beginning in his Neo-Western “Violent City.” But most impressively, Bandeira deftly handles sharing the film’s layered backstory with both natural pacing and exposition. Far too many films spoon-feed the audience, which ends up reducing the art and cheapening the experience.
I was trying to figure out which cameras the production used, and it looks like a Mini-DV. The cinematography’s palpable texture recalls David Lynch’s aesthetics throughout “Inland Empire” or Michael Mann’s “Collateral.” “Property’s” cinematographer Pedro Sotero previously shot the excellent Neo-Western/Horror/Neo-Colonial Revenge mashup “Bacurau.” Here he employs low angles with occasional static shots making the tension build into a breathless viewing.
“Property” showcases a heartless working environment where management says Third Reich comments like “I’m just following orders.” Some of these farm workers have been branded, and although they have not undergone slavery, they are what is considered by American standards sharecroppers. They work the land as serfs, not owning the means of production; instead, they are indebted to the land on which they work. After incurring debts, their fates are sealed as lifelong indentured servants.
Without divulging too much on the plot’s details, things kick off after the wealthy farm owners fire their indebted laborers so the former can turn their farmland into a luxury resort. This leads to a standoff where the landowner Teresa (Malu Galli) locks herself in an armored car, which Teresa’s husband (who strongly resembles Max Cassella) customized for her. The farmland’s workers are made up of people who represent Brazil’s variety of proles or the working class. One standout amongst the laborers is the matriarchal figure Antonia (Zuleica Ferreira), who is an idealist leading some of the workers. Her idealism is challenged by the unexpected barbarism that invisibly festers due to generations of institutional hardship and exploitation.
As the cat-and-mouse game between rich and poor plays out, various themes come to the surface: colonialism, social media outrage, an increasing number of refugees due to labor shortages or wars, climate change, and capital punishment. “Property” also neatly dissects class commentary with plenty of symbolism and dialogue. Aside from the talents both behind and in front of the camera, “Property” is ingenious for its simple premise. One which allows various complications stemming from social hierarchies to be critiqued head-on, with a mix of hard-hitting realism and tongue-in-cheek humor. Most importantly, “Property” is never dull. And while “Property” has much to say on these universal issues, it does not act like it has all the resolutions.
“Property” recently premiered at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival
