All Forms of Art

  Tremembé may not be a standout masterpiece, but it is undeniably intriguing.  Set in Brazil’s most famous prison for high-profile criminals, the series explores what happens after the media spectacle dies down.  By shifting the focus from the crime itself to life behind bars, the show taps into a kind of curiosity that’s hard to ignore—especially when the criminals involved are already deeply embedded in the public imagination. Two Sides of the Same Crime One of the series’ strongest choices is its constant movement between the women’s and men’s wings of the prison. This structure becomes especially effective when crimes were committed by groups involving both men and women.  Watching how responsibility, guilt, and power dynamics play out differently on each side adds layers to the narrative. In that sense, Tremembé feels closer to slow-burn prison dramas than to sensational true-crime shows—it observes rather than accuses. Performances That Humanize the “Mon...

I’d realized before that there are a couple of good Brazilian shows on Netflix , but due to time constraints, I had never been able to watch any of them. Recently, I gave it a try with  Nobody’s Looking , or in its original Ninguém Tá Olhando , and I loved it. The story is about Uli (Victor Lamoglia), a  recently born rebel angel (or  Angelus,  in the show’s terminology),  full of questions. He is not happy with the system's explanations and keeps digging around. Not satisfied with being the [only] black sheep, he leads other characters to question and take forbidden actions. Nobody’s Looking is an irreverent comedy, exploring the way we fight so hard to keep the status quo , even when it makes no sense at all.  I especially liked the internationality of most of the jokes and funny moments. Sure, some moments are more fun to a Brazilian viewer, but most of them are easily (and more importantly, funnily) translated. Questioning Sin...