Manda Bala is an odd beast for sure, it's the kind of documentary that one of your friends will be certain that in fact is not a documentary. The film focuses on the state of modern brazil, which apparently is fucked up beyond belief(as if City of God didnt make brazil look rough enough). Kidnappers, paranoid wealthy businessmen, kidnapping victims, plastic surgeons who fix mutitlated kidnapping victims, frog farmers,oddball cops and possibly the most corrupt politician Ive ever seen populate this oddly comic film. The editing has an eye for humor that is top-notch leaving us in the scenes long enough to catch some hilarious bit of personality from the subject. At one point the interviewer asks a policeman who is displaying his massive gun collection "Can you buy a nuclear weapon in Sao Paolo?" to which he replies in seriousness "I've never tried to. But I'm pretty certain you can". The laughs dont last forever though because as I started to think the film is making a joke out of the troubles in Brazil the film hits you with some sobering footage from kidnapping ransom videos or the very real effects of political corruption on the people of Brazil. The director is quoted saying that he felt the film was a "Non-fiction robocop" which seems a pretty insane claim, but after watching the film its an accurate way of describing the situation. Manda Bala is handled with a wit and eye for minute comic detail which is a rare treat in documentary film makes for both an enjoyable and truly eye-opening experience.4/5
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