Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??
... View MoreLoad of rubbish!!
... View MoreThe first must-see film of the year.
... View MoreA movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
... View MoreThis is the story of a teenage girl who runs away from her adopted family for vague reasons (her adopted brother is cruel to her, she is taken advantage of sexually by the boys in school). She "turns the tables" on everybody by going to work at a brothel, then striking out on her own as an internet call girl, then starting a pseudo-feminist blog as "Bruna Surfergirl" where she "rates" the performance of her male clients (which you would think would be bad for business), and somehow becoming the most famous hooker in Brazil.This movie is based a real-life story, but it is of a piece with a lot foreign movies I've seen lately from France ("Student Services", "Elles", "Young and Beautiful"), Eastern Europe ("A Call Girl"), and Chile ("Joven y Alocado"). This is less preachy and socially alarmist than some of the others, but I think, like them, it definitely glamorizes prostitution quite a bit, both for women (this really doesn't seem like that bad of profession) and definitely for men since all these actresses are insanely hot and much more wholesome looking and genuinely pretty than any actual streetwalker who services thirty men a week and abuses hard drugs would ever possibly be. You could complain that the actress, Deborah Secco, was nearly 30 here and playing an 18 year old, but she probably LOOKS more fresh and innocent than any real teenager who has spent six months working the streets. Prostitution is obviously enticing sometimes to both female providers and male clients, but at best it's like a tasty-looking meal that happens to be lying in a garbage dumpster. These movies kind of tend to ignore the garbage dumpster.If you're just looking a hot sex movie with higher production values, better acting, and more of a story than "Cinemax After Dark", this movie is definitely worth watching, but don't expect any profound statement on the human condition.
... View MoreAs someone studying Portuguese, when a film in that language comes to town I go see it. I had no preconceived ideas or knowledge of the actors or story.I found Bruna Surfistinha to be an interesting tale of a lost young girl who ultimately becomes a woman in control of her life. It is made clear early on she wants cash so that she will not be dependent on anyone. She chooses to work in a higher end brothel. The view of the sex industry as a regular job with hours, rules and a break room helped remove some of the voyeuristic feel. There are a lot of sex scenes, but much like Shame, the sex loses its sexiness after a while. Her job just happens to be in the sex trade with much of the film taking place in her 'office.' The sex scenes were well framed, to me reflecting Bruna's journey from girl to woman. As the film progressed, the characters began to shine through and I found myself focused on them.There are many savvy observations served up in the dialogue. The film doesn't give pat answers as to why or offer explanations, but rather is a relatively true rendition of what was a Brazilian internet phenomenon. In many ways it is a Horatio Alger success story while being a train wreck talk show scandal all at the same time. I would recommend it for a variety of reasons, but would also say it might not be for everyone. I'm glad I saw it.
... View MoreRaquel (Deborah Secco) is a middle-class teenager that dreams on the independence of her foster family. She runs away home and works in a brothel of Celeste (Clarisse Abujamra) using the pseudonym of Bruna. When she meets Carol (Guta Ruiz), she leaves the brothel with her friend Gabi (Cristina Lago) and she rents an expensive apartment and starts working as a call girl using the nickname Bruna Surfistinha. She also starts a blog, writing her experiences, ratings and clients' confidences. She uses drugs and the downfall forces her to start working as a hustler and in the red-light district. Later she publishes a best- seller about her experiences."Bruna Surfistinha" tells the rise and fall of a notorious Brazilian whore in a glamorized way. The sexy and hot Deborah Secco makes this film worth, but I do not understand why producers choose to tell the story of a prostitute instead of many other important Brazilian women. For me, the only intention is to make money with the exploitation of the body of Deborah Secco. I had the chance to see a pornographic film where the nasty Bruna Surfistinha is the lead star and I was disgusted with this hooker. "Bruna Surfistinha" explores the sensuality and naive way of Deborah Secco that has nothing to do with Bruna and omits her work in the porn industry. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Bruna Surfistinha" ("Bruna Little Surfer")
... View More"Bruna" Marcus Baldini - As if we need excuses to waste almost a couple of hours watching Deborah Seco undressing and doing it like it's hot! The story captivated me for being based on real facts that I personally didn't know. I found it interesting only because of a certain verbal gymnastics that keeps me laughing in the lexicon of the Brazilian Portuguese and the lightness in which the most serious subjects can be portrayed by Brazilian directors, sometimes even in an ethereal fashion. But this movie is worth only for the scenes with Deborah Seco, just because the emotional dimension of it is sometimes lost and one never gets to understand what leads the main character to taking such a shaky turn, one does not understand what kind of analysis is made and for trying to tell a story sometimes the film gets so close to wanting to tell too much without showing great substance. I give it a 7 out of 10, almost pulling in a 6, but our friend Deborah Seco saved the movie (although at the beginning of the movie she acting very stuck up and out of character, perhaps because they wanted her to go through an age that simply is nor hers any more).
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