Carvão
Irene and her husband Jairo live in rural Brazil with their nine-year-old son, Jean. The family can barely make ends meet, but they try to get by on the income from the charcoal they produce in small, homemade ovens. They are also responsible for caring for Irene’s sick father, Firmino, who can no longer get out of bed after suffering a stroke.
Irene and her family’s lives will change drastically when, one day, the new neighborhood nurse, Juracy, stops by to replace Firmino’s oxygen tank. But Juracy has a hidden agenda; she proposes a shady plan to Irene to gently put old Firmino to sleep and take in the Argentine drug lord Miguel in his place. Miguel has faked his own death and urgently needs to find a safe hideout where no one can hear or see him—in exchange for a generous payment, of course. For Irene and Jairo, this could mean the end of their impoverished existence.
Family members and villagers are stunned when the family’s standard of living suddenly skyrockets. Jean gets a Game Boy, Irene goes to the hairdresser and buys perfume, and Jairo buys a motorcycle. There seems to be no end to their spending, and so the rumors begin to spread.
The lies pile up, and the story takes an absurd turn. “Carvão” is not only a comedy as black as charcoal, but also a gripping thriller that casts a critical eye on the unequal power dynamics in Brazil.
- direction
- Carolina Markowicz
- cast
- César Bordón, Rômulo Braga, Jean de Almeida Costa
- duration
- 107 min
- year
- 2022
- country
- Brazil, Argentina
- language
- Portuguese, Spanish
- Subtitles
- Nederlands
... with her effective shifts in tone, the film’s simple narrative elements steer clear of triteness or heavy-handed exposition.