‘Bacurau’ Trailer: The Genre Rules Don’t Apply In Brazil’s Wild, Ultra-Violent Cannes Award Winner

I don’t know much about Bacurau, but here’s one thing I absolutely do know; the buzz I’ve been hearing about it ever since Cannes only compares to one thing. That would be the clamor surrounding The Raid from those who had experienced it early. I’m not saying the two movies are the same, but there’s a certain violent, genre-defying style they share that audiences are finding undeniable.

The Cannes award-winning Bacurau stars Sônia Braga, Udo Kier, Karine Teles, Bárbara Colen, Thomas Aquino, and Silvero Pereira. Frankly, it’s impossible to breakdown exactly what the Hell is going on here, but it starts with the titular Brazilian town literally vanishing off the map, followed by random strange occurrences that explode into gunfire, alien invasions, stampedes, tiki masks, and some typically awful acting from Udo Kier.  Hot damn I can’t wait.

Behind the camera is  Kleber Mendonça Filho, whose previous acclaimed films Aquarius and Neighboring Sounds would not have you expecting this from him.

SYNOPSIS: A few years from now… Bacurau, a small village in the Brazilian sertão, mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants notice that their village has literally vanished from most maps and a UFO-shaped drone starts flying overhead. There are forces that want to expel them from their homes, and soon, in a genre-bending twist, a band of armed mercenaries arrive in town picking off the inhabitants one by one. A fierce confrontation takes place when the townspeople turn the tables on the villainous outsiders, banding together by any means necessary to protect and maintain their remote community.


Bacurau opens on March 6th.