By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Fernando Coimbra
Starring: Antonio Saboia | Fabiula Nascimento | Isabelle Ribas | Leandra Leal | Milhem Cortez
Original language title: O Lobo atrás da Porta
Country: brazil
Year: 2014
Running time: 101
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2861532/combined
Kyle says: “Although the title A WOLF AT THE DOOR is metaphorical, a number of candidates can be considered for the titular character in this intriguing Brazilian domestic melodrama, the first full-length feature film by writer/director Fernando Coimbra. A 6-year-old girl has been kidnapped from school, and the police are attempting to sift through the list of potential miscreants and available evidence to find out where the little girl is. It seems the little girl knows the woman who has taken her, and that the motive is jealousy or insanity, not money. As the increasingly exasperated Inspector (Antonio Saboia) interviews suspects, assigns searches, compiles evidence, and issues threats, the stories of the main characters keep changing, details jumbled and refracted through self-interest. Until the end: The wolf at the door is identified, and brought to justice, but nonetheless had to be invited to enter through that door. This is a genuinely horrifying film, unlike the idiotic nonsense that currently proliferates on Netflix. I kept expecting director Michael Haneke to appear suddenly, taking his seat unnoticed on a park bench or across the aisle on a train. A vivid and surprising feature debut by Fernando Coimbra, notable for a truly terrifying performance by Leandra Leal, and additionally for seductive cinematography by Lula Carvalho. 4 cats
“Seen Sunday, August 30, 2015, on Netflix, New York.”