The Edge of Democracy (2019) on Netflix
TV-1420192h 1mDocumentaryHistory
A filmmaker traces Brazil's recent political history through the terms of President Lula da Silva and the presidency of Dilma Rousseff. She sets that public story beside her own family's past.
- Netflix4.3/5
- IMDb7.3/1016,676 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes97%
Trailer
Plot summary
The account moves between Brazil's political history and the family story of the filmmaker who made it. She follows President Lula da Silva through two terms and Dilma Rousseff through her presidency, drawing on access to both, and revisits earlier chapters, among them the 1964 coup, the military dictatorship that followed, the strikes that began in 1978 and the birth of the Workers' Party in 1980. Her relatives stand on both sides of that divide. Her grandfather was a contractor whose business with the state spanned civilian and military administrations, and some in her family welcomed the 1964 coup, while her parents were left-wing activists pursued by the dictatorship and her mother sympathized with the Workers' Party.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Edge of Democracy (2019)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- After the documentary's Oscar nomination, Brazil's President Bolsonaro called the film "crap" without having seen it, and his government issued an official note calling director Petra Costa an "anti-Brazilian activist" who is defaming the country's image abroad.
- TV presenter Pedro Bial called the documentary "unbearable"; the criticism he received for the comment's alleged offensive and macho tone, including from Dilma Rousseff herself, led him to write an article for O Globo asking for "peace".
