The Constant Gardener (2005)

Director: Fernando Meirelles

Hearts and minds: how the mind of a British writer is transformed by the eyes of a Brazilian
Published in: Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), 16 Oct. 05

This film is truly magnificent, a work of genius, one of the best I've ever seen. Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles, of "City of God" fame (unjustly passed over by this year's Oscar, but very justly voted by IMDb fans as one of the 100 best films ever) delivers a cinematic masterpiece that deserves a place even higher in the "One Hundred Best". This is how movies should be done, the fusion of mind and heart, of social conscience with sheer visual emotion, riveted into place with gorgeous acting. Pain and love, the quality of color, the jarring images, the breathtaking views of an Africa which is beautiful at a distance, as seen from above, but transmutes into overpopulation, disease, poverty, dejection, suffering, crime, corruption and horror when you really get down.

Le Carré's novel is superb, as always (he is one of the Cold War spy book authors who actually survived to the end of the Evil Empire). But, my opinion is that he needed Meirelles to improve on his harrowing story: only a Brazilian director could do this. European and American eyes and minds couldn't just look into the social picture with the same feeling for detail and meaning as Meirelles has done (in the same style as COG, which, by the way, was haunting and shocking even to Brazilians, who are accustomed to the horrors of developing countries.)

Congratulations to Meirelles, Fiennes, Weisz and all other members of the team who gave such a gift to all fans of movie picture quality. I hope Meirelles gets the Oscar now.

Registro no IMDb:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387131/