Brava-2

This is a movie described by its maker as "hopeful." For this viewer, it was only hopeful in that it portrayed the unceasing optimism of the heroine, otherwise it struck me as utterly hopeless - hopeless about man's inescapable subjection to the whims of both the "system" and of life in general. Beautifully acted and filmed, it is, for all its rude violence, appealing and sweet in many ways. But the overwhelming sadness and wretchedness of the characters are the feelings I carried away from the theater.