Film [better]: Six Vidas 2018

Unfortunately, Mendes also falls into the “teachable moment” trap. The lawyer’s storyline (involving a hit-and-run he covered up) is resolved with a court confession so tidy and morally instructive that it feels like an after-school special. Similarly, the single mother’s sudden stroke of luck (a long-lost relative leaves her an apartment) arrives with the convenience of a deus ex machina.

The “six vidas” (six lives) of the title are not just six characters—they are six emotional states: grief, rage, courage, nostalgia, exhaustion, and hypocrisy. Over the course of 110 minutes, Gomes slowly, almost casually, reveals how these emotional states collide. A dropped wallet on a bus. A misdelivered letter. A chance encounter in a 24-hour pharmacy. These are the film’s narrative glue. six vidas 2018 film

The director’s restraint is admirable. He avoids the frantic cross-cutting that plagues many ensemble dramas. Instead, Six Vidas allows each story to breathe in 10-15 minute vignettes before gently pivoting to the next. The result is meditative, though some viewers may find the first act sluggish as they struggle to remember who’s who. The “six vidas” (six lives) of the title

To call Six Vidas a masterpiece would be an overstatement. It stumbles in pacing and occasionally veers into melodramatic territory. However, to dismiss it would be to miss the genuine, beating heart beneath its indie veneer. This is a film that wears its influences—from Crash to Amores Perros —on its sleeve, yet manages to carve out its own uniquely Brazilian soul. A misdelivered letter

The film’s structure is its boldest gamble. We meet six protagonists whose lives initially appear unrelated: a middle-aged widow (Lúcia, played with aching restraint by Fernanda Rodrigues) who talks to her dead husband’s armchair; a disillusioned young DJ (Rafael, portrayed by Lucas Deluti) whose anger masks a childhood abandonment; a transgender nurse (Eduarda, a scene-stealing turn by Sophia Abrahão) struggling for her father’s acceptance; an elderly bookshop owner (Joaquim, the legendary Antônio Fagundes) facing eviction; a single mother (Carla) working double shifts as a cleaner; and a guilt-ridden lawyer (Marcelo) whose perfect life is a lie.

Six Vidas is a gentle, over-earnest hug of a movie—flawed, a little messy, but ultimately warm and necessary.