Divine Love

Saw this at the Ghent filmfestival 2019. It is not easy for any filmmaker to create a futuristic 2027-world that visibly differs from ours, being believable yet not technically challenged. Luckily, this movie did not overreach in any respect, as cars, houses, appliances and so on looked the same as nowadays. No future vision in the traditional SciFi-sense was demonstrated, and I don't blame the film makers for (dis)missing the opportunity. Alternatively, they focused on two societal changes, viz. A growing influence of evangelicals on daily life, and the external visibility of women being pregnant by means of appliances reporting it while e.g. Shopping. The only thing noticeably novel, also very original, was a drive-thru confession facility (very unlike the fixed ritual like in Roman Catholic churches when I was young, but rather a good conversation when in doubt about your belief). Our main protagonist uses this facility very often. Her usual complaint is that she has done so much to support the basic principles of her religious belief, by hindering people to get divorced, that she finally wants a deserved "sign" from above to confirm she has done well. What definitely changed in the years between nowadays and 2027, as per this movie, was that the separation between church and state seemed less apparent anymore, at least not as clear cut as it is for us. The neutrality of the civil servant in the person of our main protagonist, may or may not be an exception, but I would not be surprised when the filmmakers referred to a growing fundamentalism in Brazil, given recent developments in that region. I cannot imagine this to be pure coincidence (in other words: social commentary included). The sect with the express objective to support couples wanting to forward their matrimony towards its ultimate goal by helping them to become pregnant, showed some unusual rituals to accomplish that. Only couples were allowed, which becomes overly clear near the end when our female main protagonist cannot even enter to have an urgent dialog with the mistress, flatly being refused at the door. The story went in a different direction than I had assumed (and hoped for). Given that she checked the DNA of her baby with those of the men in the sect, she was sure that the father would not be someone out of that circle, and neither her own husband. (Note: She was in the unique position to have DNA info on all men in the sect out of her job as registrar, where every applicant had to provide DNA.) Having eagerly waited for a "sign" as thanks for her efforts (see above), she made a bold assumption being touched by God. Hence, she deduced the Second Coming was imminent, herself being the chosen one to carry the Messiah. The pastor was not prepared to accept that, reported her to higher authorities, after which he was not allowed to speak with her any further. I'n not very sure what the next step of the church would have been (the movie does not enlighten us), as the Second Coming is something not all religions think equally.

Actually, after not conceiving with her husband for a long time, she sleeps around with other guys, gets pregnant, and then tells her husband that she doesn't know who the father is (not one of the men of their church) this would be OUR child, and nobody would know, except she and her husband and is surprised that her husband tells her "this is YOUR child", and divorces her. She is so deep into her belief of a wonder from God, that she tells her husband to go away after he declares that he doesn't believe in her special version of faith. Interestingly, her church also refuses to help her (except if she wants to ask for repentance), showing you how far the support of her church goes (her church seems to allow some "swinging", but "an exchange of seed is only permitted between husband and wife"). In the end, she gets her child alone.

The director Mascaro chose a very interesting way to portray this dystopia, it diverges from the current way of portraying this genre - pompous productions -, making it more real, more palpable, closer - the brazilian brand of making art is visible. The cast's acting is good, Dira Paes delivers a performance in which we can feel her emotions - as expected. The crisis that inhabits her marriage, the distance between them two, the dry relationship without affection, focused only on the attempt and expectation of a child, can also be felt. The photography, the lighting, the camera angles, the indoor and outdoor environments are very well done, very well chosen - we can feel a connection with what's being portrayed, it doesn't seem far away, a completely different reality in the future. The film misses the turn - the miracle - by leaving the meaning of it too dubious - society is still not ready for the Second Coming and still doesn't believe what a woman says? The movie also fails by not showing the outside world, focusing too much on the protagonist's personal drama, not being able to show the reality of everyday life that people must deal with - but I wonder if this was a director's choice or if it was a budget imperative. It wasn't clear why the "couple of godfathers" and their "couple of godchildren" of the Divino Amor group had to have sex. Also there was a lack of portraying how the male-female relationship is in this society even more dominated by neo-Pentecostalism.

I don't want to write a spoiler review because this film is just too good to give away the essence in a review. It is VERY rare for me to give a film a ten. In the case of Divine Amor I would give a twelve out of ten if I could. It is a truly extraordinary film. Julio Machado and particularly Dira Paes give magnificent performances. The film is a brilliant fusion of science fiction and religion. You don't have to be religious to appreciate it, but if you are religious, and I am, have plenty of tissues ready. The mechanism of the child narrator is a stroke of genius that doesn't become clear until the end. Yes, there is some nudity and sex, but it is necessary to tell the story and you shouldn't shy away from this film because of that. All I can say is, trust me, watch it, this film is a unique experience.

Not properly bad but a little frustrating. I expected a much deeper and encompassing distopy but I saw some nice ideas loosely connected without a clear understanding of what the movie is about. Acting is good (Dira Paes is always awesome), the film is visually nice too, the fururistic Brazil seems credible (with the advance of Neo-Pentecostal fundamentalism over national institutions) but lacks desirable information for espectators, and there is much more explicit (and convincing) sex in the film than I could imagine.

'Divine Love' is a strange film: it begins as a vaguely sci-fi tale when we meet Joana, a woman who lives in the Brazil of 2027. It is a society where people's lives are documented and bar-coded to the nth degree: a person's marital status - and in the case of women, whether or not they are pregnant - are automatically detected and displayed for all to see when entering buildings. Joana and her husband are members of a religious group (the eponymous 'Divine Love') that encourages free love. But despite frequent sexual couplings with a variety of partners, Joana, to the couple's disappointment, never falls pregnant. When that situation changes, however, the film shifts to become more of a religious allegory. I saw this at the 2019 London Film Festival (LFF), the programme of which included many films about people obsessing over having babies. If Joana's treatment of a litter of puppies is any indication of her caring instincts, I would not let her anywhere near a child, but animal cruelty aside it is hard not to feel sympathy for her, as actress Dira Paes gives the character dignity even in scenes shared with a cheesy 'drive-thru' pastor (Emílio de Melo in a gift of a role that he sensibly treats subtly rather than playing for belly laughs). I am not sure I need to watch this again, but it was certainly worth watching once. I just hope the LFF programmers choose fewer baby-obsessive films next year...

ESSE FILME NÃO TEM UM DEFEITO o final é perfeito demais

What if the official registrar, who has to arrange your divorce, suddenly begs you to give your marriage another chance? Welcome in the Brazil of 2027, where bikinis are forbidden and detection gates reveal your pregnancy. Where you can go to confession in a drive-through church. Divino Amor is an unhurried, alienating and well-acted film, with subtle humor, strange sets, disco music and a few very explicit scenes. For fans of movies like Drive, Her, Under The Skin and The Lobster.

This movies shows the recent future in Brazil, where the evangelicals will be majority of the population, it will finish the carnival. But when this production derails is shows women using burkines at beach and, later, practicing swing at churches. If this weren't enough, the sex scenes are very long and explicit. Repet, made at churches. Completely nonsense, crazy and unpleasant,

I'm not sure how I feel about this movie. Some scenes are very uncomfortable to watch and the beginning of the movie made me very interested to explore this religious dystopia yet the way the story was developed felt kinda lackluster to me. I think I was just expecting another plot. Still, it brings some nice questions into light, it is well acted (especially the main character, lived by Dira Paes) and well-shot (loved the neon photography). If you like Black Mirror, you should give a shot to this film. Just don't watch it with your parents in the room.