Brazil’s revolutionary new era of cinema continues with Neon Bull, an immersive, sensuous art-house
experience set in the dusty barren landscapes of north eastern Brazil.
It’s an intimate portrait of life and livestock in the
remotest regions of Brazil among a small group of cattle wranglers, both men
and women, working behind the scenes and traveling from town to town, taking
care of the bulls that are used in the popular Rodeo shows known as Vaquejada.
Director Gabriel Mascaro skillfully attempts to break stereotypes
with his cowboy characters by reversing traditional gender roles in this
parched no man’s land of stark beauty and emptiness.
Iremar (Juliano Cazarré) is not what he seems on the outside.
Beneath his macho cowboy exterior is a sensitive artistic soul who aspires to
become a fashion designer. It’s not what you would expect from a cow hand. He artfully
draws his provocative creations on the nude female bodies of porn magazines and
sews sexy dance costumes for his female colleague Galega (Maeve Jinkings), who drives
the truck that transports the cattle and performs as an exotic dancer for the
rodeo sideshow in late night bars of the various towns they visit.
Iremar is actually very good at his job and also takes his
designer hobby very seriously. He’s the resident fashion connoisseur, so when a
traveling sales lady comes around selling cologne, they immediately strike up a
friendship with their common interest and ambitions. Their dreams are as diverse
as their day-to-day existence is mundane.
The intimately filmed erotic visual style effectively immerses
us in the lives of these out-of-place characters as they go about their routine,
giving us a sense of being part of a remote unseen world. It’s as if the camera
is invisible and we are just observing life as it happens from the shadows and
the makeshift tents.
With men and livestock living in close quarters like
Bedouins and their camels wandering through the desert, our human instincts are
shown to be closer to animals than we would like to admit.
This small cattle community are out-casts who have fallen
outside the margins of society; wanderers living in isolation who dream of
becoming famous one day. There isn’t much of a story to speak of and the film
makes no judgements or explanations, it simply spends a short time passing
through the lives of these roaming rodeo roadies.
Neon Bull is a fascinating
transient experience that mirrors the lifestyle of the characters it follows on
their journey through an isolated alien frontier world, giving us a new
perspective on the lives and relationships of the men and women living on the edge
of civilization.
Brazilian cinema is always exciting to watch and full of
creativity and powerful perspectives. Like other recent contemporary avant-garde
films from Brazil, Neighboring Sounds
(2012), Brazilian Western (2013) and The Second Mother (2015), Neon Bull is an artful insightful film
that can be enjoyed on many levels; visually, sensually and culturally.
JP
