Vazante

An epic of desperation, clotted emotions, racism and innocence destroyed, "Vazante" is chillingly beautiful and thoroughly awful, stuffed with grief and tragedy while wrestling with the dynamics of power.

Any director this far along in developing an assured visual style truly is a director to watch.

At its center is a dramatist's purest of wishes: to capture the interiority of people in dire circumstances, to make us see what they see and feel what they feel.

The ending has a feeling of inevitability but is nonetheless shocking, a tragedy resulting from an original sin that haunts, and will continue to haunt.

Every frame of Inti Briones's starkly gorgeous black-and-white cinematography ... hints at an inherent contradiction, either visually, in the narrative or in its larger themes.

The languidly-paced picture has a staggering array of beautiful images and vistas.

Under the supervision of Linha de Passe co-director Daniela Thomas, this emotionally wrenching period drama is culturally and historically valuable.

Visually absorbing and narratively compelling, Vazante is a character study that uses uncomfortable intimacies to address expansive human concerns.

There are memes about white people tears, too, though the movie's final scream of horror might actually be funnier than any of them.

It can test the patience of a viewer. But the beauty of the images and the underlying power of the story, especially when Beatriz begins to emerge as the focus of the film, make Vazante an immersive watch.

Every composition, each image of her epic endeavor, especially in close-ups, comprise sensual, atmospheric marvels.

There is no way that the story of Vazante ... could end well. The genuine shock is how badly and horrifically it does end for all of these characters.