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Pacific Grim

When I see a film about the crime-ridden favellas surrounding Rio De Janeiro, how can I not think back to the great "City of God," from 2002? It was one of those films that you can't help but marvel at. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, yet it was inexplicably not nominated for Best Foreign Film.

Writer/director Paxton Winters' "Pacified," part of the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, is another film about crime in the ghettos of Rio. It's not nearly as good as "City of God," but that's not proof that it isn't of some quality.

The film is set during the Summer Olympics in Rio. The title "Pacified" refers to a program of the Brazilian government to try to maintain peace on the streets during (and only during) the Olympics. Brazil wanted to hide its poverty and crime from the television cameras that were broadcasting throughout the world.

Tati (Cassia Nascimiento) is a teenage girl who survives in the ghettos of Rio by stealing, which is very far from uncommon behavior there. She is anticipating a great change to her life because her father, Jaca (Bukassa Kabengele) is being released from his long term in prison. He was one of the underworld bosses in the favella before he was sent away.

Jaca is returning as a hero because he was liked and respected when he was in charge. Also, it is universally presumed that he will retake his place and dethrone the current leader, Nelson (José Loreto), a young man whom he himself chose as his replacement.

Nelson is the obvious prime villain, because he's cruel, crazed and sadistic in his handlings of day-to-day life. He's got that look in his eyes that tells the audience that he is the antithesis Jaca, who ruled fairly and therefore earned the respect of everyone who lives there.

Nelson and Jaca are headed toward an inevitable confrontation, despite the fact that Jaca is tired of the criminal life. He becomes subservient to Nelson, which displeases everyone, including his own mother.

The story is actually a bit disappointing in what should be a far more tense anticipation of a showdown. Instead, Winters opts to focus on how life functions in the area. It is a fascinating watch from that perspective, but that's not enough to lift it into "City of God" country.