O céu de Suely

After seeing O céu de Suely, a friend of mine declared, "This is Brazil." Another friend says the same thing about Bye Bye Brasil and I myself have gone so far as to say the same thing about O ano em que meus pais saíram de férias. In all three cases, I think we see films that don't exotify or objectify. Instead, they try to tell about life as it is and was, about changing societies and places where that change is truncated.

The friend who loved this film is, predictably, from a rural city, a place where the prostitutes do actually cost US$10 per trick and where there is almost no work and no way to get ahead if you do not start out with privilege. This friend's city is bigger than Suely's and thus has more opportunities, but the problems are the same, particularly for women. Tellingly, the same problems plague small towns in desolate areas throughout the world.

The story of Suely--the woman lured to the big city by love and ambition who returns to her home town only to discover that she cannot support herself and her child there--is not one of victimization so much as one of hope. From the outside, we feel bad for her and know that her future in the city where she still has no education and no job history on her work card is only slightly more hopeful than in the small town. Perhaps this is why Suely's belief in her ability to better herself is so touching and heartbreaking.