Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Release Date: 09/21/2004
SubTitles: English/French/KO/TH
Dubbed: Por
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time: 145 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: Columbia TriStar

Brazilian filmmaker Hector Babenco directs the confrontational drama Carandiru, based on the best-selling novel by Dr. Drauzio Varella. The episodic story is set in Sao Paulo's House of Detention (referred to as Carandiru), one of Latin America's largest prison systems. The doctor (Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos) is an oncologist who arrives in the jail to test patients for HIV infection. Seeing the disease, overcrowding, and rampant circulation of drugs, the doctor comes to realize the internal power structure among the prisoners. Several narratives develop, including the attempted murder of Dagger (Milhem Cortaz), the solitary confinement of Chico (Milton Goncalves), and the romance between Lady Di (Rodrigo Santoro) and Too Bad (Gero Camilo). The doctor eventually establishes a routine and sees the prisoners as survivors, leading up to the violent conclusion: a reconstruction of the October 2, 1992, prison riot known as the Carandiru Massacre.

~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

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Cast:
Luis Carlos Vasconcelos - Doctor
Milhem Cortaz - Dagger
Milton Goncalves - Chico
Ivan de Almeida - Ebony
Ailton Graca - Highness
Maria Luiza Mendonca - Dalva
Aida Lerner - Rosirene
Rodrigo Santoro - Lady Di
Gero Camilo - Too Bad

Production:
Hector Babenco - Director
Hector Babenco - Producer
Flavio R. Tambellini Fabiano Gullane - Co Producer
Andre Abujamra - Composer
Mauro Alice - Editor
Hector Babenco Fernando Bonassi Victor Navas - Screen Writer
Daniel Filho - Associate Producer
Drauzio Varella - Book Author
Vivian Golombek - Casting
Walter Carvalho - Cinematographer
Cristina Camargo - Costume Designer
Clovis Bueno - Production Designer
Romeu Quinto - Sound/Sound Designer

Caracas: Amor a Muerte
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Elite Squad [WS]
    Wagner Moura / R / 2008
Pigalle
    Vera Briole / 1994

2003 Cannes Film Festival