By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Caolina Marcowicz
Starring: Erom Cordeiro | Isac Graça | Kauan Alvarenga | Maeve Jinkings | Thomas Aquino
Original language title: Pedágio
Year: 2023
Running time: 102
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13846480/reference/
Brett says: “Director Carolina Markowicz follows 2022’s genre-bending plot from CHARCOAL with yet another single-word title film. Similar to that first feature, this film allows audiences to interpret the ominous title to apply to quite a few different plot circumstances. The story follows a single mother Suellen, a toll booth attendant struggling to understand and accept the evolving identity of her teenage child Antonio. The film pairs strict traditional cultural and religious expectations with a yearning for progressive acceptance and understanding. At the center of the conflict between mother and child is Antonio’s affinity for creating impassioned lip-synch videos in which Antonio dances and flaunts homemade, yet expressive color, costuming, makeup, and lighting to accentuate the tone and mood. The videos are published online, and in a small community, it’s just a matter of time before the social media posts become available for many gossip-mongers to see: Suellen’s adult colleagues, friends, and relatives, in particular. Antonio’s innocent attempts at self-expression are met with questions about masculinity that trouble the teenager’s mother as to what Antonio’s perceived place in society might be.
“Fans of the director’s previous feature will notice trends from the first that carry over into this film. The motifs of crime and poverty that loom like clouds over the main plot are just a couple of those characteristics. Elements of kitchen sink realism also play a role in both films. Markowicz also showcases her ability to jigsaw unexpected, dark, veiled humor into the mix to help highlight some of the absurdities at play. Modern social themes and conflicts within traditional South American cultural lenses also play a huge role in this film, much like its predecessor. Additionally, Maeve Jinklings portrays a mother in both productions, and Aline Marta Maia returns in a supporting role for this one as well.
“Like CHARCOAL, Markowicz allows each character room to have their own story. For Suellen, her dead-end patterns of social interactions, her work, and possibly even her role as a mother are all featured. She is a conundrum unto herself, battling her own vices and stubbornness that contradict the message she is attempting to convey to Antonio. Antonio, on the other hand, grapples with internal conflict among expectations, social mores, and the person the teenager believes anyone can be regardless of these restrictions. Supporting characters Telma (a work colleague of Suellen), Pastor Isaac (a traveling evangelist specializing in gay conversion therapy), and Arauto (the two-faced “sometimes” boyfriend of Suellen) also get mini-story arcs, consistent with the director’s previous film’s attempts to develop more than just the centerpieces of the story.
“Altogether, Markowicz is a director with a clever tone to her work, and although this is only her second feature, one can certainly see that there is a certain auteur-like touch to her film-making that makes one eager to see what the director comes up with next. 4 cats out of 5”