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Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)
User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 8 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8

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  1. PaulK.
    Nov 6, 2007
    9
    Equally disturbing as it is fascinating. The information could have been presented in a more cohesive manner, especially the see saw of subtitles vs. language interpreters, but otherwise a well made doc.
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  2. Alexandra
    Sep 3, 2007
    9
    A very fascinating look at the Darwin-esque struggle between the very rich and the unimaginably poor in one of the world's most dangerous cities. Though the footage is gruesome at times, it does much to accentuate the brutality the people of Sao Paolo are faced with on a daily basis. The film linked all the stories together well; it exposes how the rich steal from the poor, and the poor seek vengeance on their oppressors. A very powerful, gripping, and well done documentary. I was completely captivated.… Expand
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  3. MarlusF.
    Sep 28, 2007
    10
    Manda Bala is an honest, accurate and courageous portrait that de-constructs the overrated Brazilian clichés (carnaval, women, soccer and samba). An eye-opening view of a society in a forced state of numbness and indifference before a surreal ultra violent reality and a non declared civil war. According to all international standards, Brazil is the most violent place in the solar system, with more them 45,000 murders per year and astonishing 630 cases of "flash kidnappings" per month only the the city of Sao Paulo. Kohn's initiative to bring these issues to the table give room to even more questions, specially concerning the middle class' struggle to survive and keep its physical integrity ans sanity between the clash of the extreme poor and the extreme rich layers of Brazilian society.… Expand
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  4. ChadS.
    Apr 28, 2008
    8
    People are sluts for the camera, even in Brazil. The frog farmer has a lot of chutzpah, like any number of guys who believe they won't crack under the pressure of hardline questioning. Bottom line: people like to talk, even if they have something to hide. But men with hubris possess a feeling of invincibility, so they foolishly grant sit-down interviews like volunteers for firing squads. The frog farmer bears a passing resemblance to the sort of people that Errol Morris profiled in "Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control". When the filmmaker loses interest in the agricultural aspect of his operations, the frog farmer asks the cameraman to stop shooting, after a question is posed to him about an alleged scandal that involved one of his friends. Right about then, the interviewer quietly slips off his gloves, and drops any pretense that he's shooting a quirky character profile about a colorful person's idiosyncratic obsession(the subject of Morris' documentary). The camera rolls on. The frog farmer looks a little nervous. Some will argue that "Manda Bala" is a stylish op/ed piece like Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11"(because the documentarian already had his mind made up about the subject), but the frog farmer's refusal to talk, backs up the prosecutor's claim that Jader Barbalho is more like a mafia don than a politician. This filmmaker scores a coup when he gets his subject to do an on-camera interview, although he won't talk about the frogs(the first rule of frog farm is- you do not talk about frog farm), which is better than Moore, who could never lure General Motors CEO Roger Smith in "Roger and Me". "Manda Bala" is exciting like a narrative film. It's better than Fernando Meirelles' "Cidade de deus", that's for sure.… Expand
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
71 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    80
    Kohn's gripping Manda Bala is the opposite of a high-school science doc. It's a free-form portrait of a place--Brazil--with scary running motifs: kidnapping, mutilation, plastic surgery, bulletproofing, and frog farming.
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  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    80
    Crammed into a lively 85-minute package delivered with loads of dark humor and cinematic flair, this is a worthy winner of Sundance's Grand Jury prize for documentary.
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  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Michelle Orange
    80
    With an excess of excitable style, samba music, and heady, montage-driven metaphor that threatens to bury his film's key ideas, young-gun director Kohn--a New Yorker with South American roots--has clearly set out to make a splash. So far, he's succeeded.
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