The Torturer

Some people said this was a Brazilian spoof of Hollywood action films. Indeed, it is a comedy with many references in that cinema tradition. However, a spoof may have control of its script and make clear that it is a satire. I do not think it is the case. I consider it as a silly and failed attempt to produce a Brazilian badass flick with the sane formula overused in Hollywood, Italy and elsewhere. You have eyepatch, you have really cruel Nazis, you have mafia. The Latin American dictatorship backed by USA and militaries could have been a nice background for a clever comedy, but this is not. An imoral former torturer from Brazilian military dictatorship is not the kind of hero (or anti-hero, whatever) you may expect in a film, particularly in a comedy. His slapstick sidekick played by Octavio Augusto, and the weak dictator Borges played by Ary Fontoura are the best characters, but not enough to save the film. At least there is a nice mocking on military macho ethos, and taking into consideration that it was still military dictatorship in Brazil, it is something to acknowledge.

The actor Jece Valadão, also know by his adventures with dirty women and drugs outside the screen, shows in this movie that your name is more strong that your performance. The movie is not so bad, but Valadão insist in the "Charles Bronson image". He uses a machine gun during all the movie, face the bad guys, sleep with all women he can, use a little mustache like Bronson's and kill everybody that stayed in your front.

This spoof of Hollywood action flicks is one of the most hilarious surprises I've ever seen. "O Torturador" makes use of countless cliches to compose its story and the mix is a brainless fun for the body and the spirit. Too bad it didn't became a cult classic because it has everything to be one: a little seen film at the time of its release; fans of the cast involved are probably its audience today; a perfect blend of parody, humor and action with great roles for everyone involved, and if taken a little bit seriously one will notice that despite some cheap parts the movie manages to satisfy viewers without obstacles.

Plot: a fictional republic of bananas serves as a refuge to an old Nazi officer who has all the support from dictator Vargas (Ary Fontoura) and his opressive regime that tortures and kills members of the opposition. Two Brazilian bounty hunters are offered a big reward to hunt down and kill the Nazi war criminal.

They are Jones (Jece Valadão) and Chuchu (Otávio Augusto), two complete opposite characters that make a full team - while Chuchu is the funny guy who spends his time getting into trouble and most of the time singing popular songs, the tough alpha male Jones is more concerned about their mission, and a surprise reunion with a former lover (Vera Gimenez), a popular singer who abandoned him years ago and now is one of the protegés of the dictator. Much to the two criminals luck they're not alone in bringing down Vargas and the Nazi, they get the support of the resistance members fighing the regime.

Get ready for gunshots; sex scenes; strange form of tortures; a cocaine-addict priest who helps the dictatorship; contemptous remarks and behavior from the main "hero"; amusing sequences of Chuchu having fun with beautiful women pretending to be James Bond; and the wimp colonel (Paulo Villaça) who's in love with a male prostitute. It's all good and fun to watch but remember that this is a product of its era, so it's quite possible to see some objetionable things. But for the most part it's never crass or insanely offensive.

I went after this thinking it'd be another B picture, but Antônio Calmon made the film with plenty of qualities, excellent use of humor with the main duo and their weird situations; just the love story didn't work all the much - despite the good chemistry of then-couple Jece and Vera. On a deeper level, it portrays a nice criticism of South America's military regimes with this fictional country where war criminals spend their happy lives hidden yet working to support the military in power. It was a trend back in the day (Eichmann found in Argentina and Mengele was in Brazil with his remains found a couple of years after the film).

However, "O Torturador" main theme is to make fun of action films, with countless and unbelievable scenarios where good guys suffer some bit but they never fail when they're shooting bad guys or conquering women. Otávio Augusto should've got an award for the hilarious Chuchu, he has all the best moments in the film - his shoutout to a soccer team while he's being tortured by the villain is hysterical. Check it out. 9/10.