Boca Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Boca Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 13, 2012

Winner of Best Cinematography and Best Editing Awards at the Festival do Rio, Flavio Frederico's "Boca do Lixo" a.k.a "Boca" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Studios-UK. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailer; stills from the film; and audio commentary with director Flavio Frederico. In Portuguese, with optional English, English SDH, French, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

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Flavio Frederico’s Boca is about a powerful Brazilian gangster, Hiroito Joanides de Moraes, who once ruled the streets of Sao Paulo. The film was adapted from his autobiography, a bestseller in Brazil, which was published in 1977.

The film is structured as a series of uneven episodes, each highlighting an important event from Hiroito’s (Daniel de Oliveira, A Festa da Menina Morta) life. Early on, we see a teenager visiting a well known brothel in Sao Paulo and then confessing that his first time was so special that he immediately fell in love with the women who worked there. This love - or whatever it was he was feeling at the time - changed his direction in life.

Another episode shows Hiroito helping a prostitute who is attacked by an angry man. Moments later, he kills the man and then goes home to have a drink.

In another episode, Hiroito’s father, a well respected businessman with plenty of powerful friends, is murdered. Hiroito is immediately arrested by the police, interrogated and then released. Back on the streets, Hiroito buys a gun and vows to become the king of Sao Paulo – but not because he wants to avenge the death of his father, rather because he hates being weak. He settles down in Boca do Lixo, a sleazy area known for his night clubs, bars, and brothels.

The rest of the film is about Hiroito’s transformation from a weak and vulnerable young man into an angry and fearless drug lord. While dealing and killing, Hiroito also finds the time to get married, to a beautiful prostitute named Alaide (Hermila Guedes, Love for Sale), and start a family. He also befriends a homeless boy, Vicente, who makes him feel good about himself.

Hiroito’s success attracts plenty of sharks, including a corrupt police official, who begins providing important information about confiscated drugs, secret police operations, etc. At this point, however, Hiroito is already addicted to hard drugs and making crucial mistakes, which allow various competitors to challenge his authority. The collapse of his empire is inevitable.

Boca is an interesting Brazilian period gangster film that essentially tells two different stories. The first is about Hiroito and his rise to glory, which reminds a little about that of Frenchman Jacques Mesrine (see Jean-François Richet’s film). But Hiroito was a much smaller fish, and apparently never had the ambitions Mesrine did.

The second story is about the proliferation of drug trafficking in Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo. The film gives a good idea of how the city changed during the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, and what are the roots of many of the problems it faces today (according to director Frederico, the streets which Hiroito once ruled are nowadays known as Crack Land, and are overpopulated with drug addicts, prostitutes, transvestites, small-time criminals and African immigrants).

Oliveira is convincing as the notorious gangster Hiroito. He is most impressive during the later stages of the film, where Hiroito struggles with his addiction and makes a series of crucial mistakes. The elegant Guedes also does not disappoint.

Adrian Teijido’s lensing is sharp and clear. The film also boasts a wonderful retro soundtrack featuring tracks by Domenico Modugno ("Come Prima"), Carlos Galhardo ("Mercador"), Jamelao ("Ela disse-me assim") and Jimi Hendrix ("Somewhere"), among others.

Boca Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Flavio Frederico's Boca arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Studios-UK.

Shot in HD (HD-to-35 mm), Boca looks very good on Blu-ray. Detail is excellent both during close-ups and larger panoramic shots, clarity impressive, and contrast levels stable. However, the film has a unique color-scheme that favors bright and light browns, blues, greens, and grays, which tend to evolve as the action moves from the '50s to the '60s and '70s (mostly in terms of saturation). During a number of key sequences, natural light is also prominent. There are no traces of problematic digital tinkering. I also did not notice any purely transfer-related anomalies to report in this review (banding, aliasing, etc). To sum it all up, the film's transition to Blu-ray is pleasing and trouble-free. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, the disc's main menu can be set in one of the following languages: English, French, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, and Dutch. Also, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Boca Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French DTS 5.1. For the record, Universal Studios-UK have provided optional English, English SDH, French, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature.

The Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track opens up the film very well. Though there aren't too many sequences where the surrounds are active, when they come alive they are indeed very effective. Also, the excellent retro soundtrack is given plenty of room to breathe. The dialog is consistently crisp, clean, stable, and very easy to follow. The English translation is very good.

Boca Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are perfectly playable on North American Blu-ray players, including the PS3.

• Commentary - an audio commentary with director Flavio Frederico. The director discusses the production history of the film and Hiroito Joanides de Moraes and his legacy, how the city of Sao Paolo has changed during the years (there is excellent information towards the end of the film), etc. The commentary is in English, with optional English and French subtitles.

• Stills Montage - a collection of stills from the film. (1 min, 1080p).

• Trailer - The original theatrical trailer for the film. Music only with English text and optional French and Dutch subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

Boca Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Flavio Frederico's Boca is a stylish and entertaining period gangster film that chronicles the life of Hiroito Joanides de Moraes, a ruthless gangster who once ruled the streets of Sao Paulo. Admittedly, the film climaxes in a predictable fashion, but the acting is solid, and the retro soundtrack excellent. RECOMMENDED.