TINTA BRUTA/ HARD PAINT

Brazil, 2018 118 minutes, Colour.
Shico Menegat, Bruno Fernandes.
Directed by Filzembacher, Marcio Realon.


A Brazilian film, set in the northern town of Porto Alegre.

The central character is a young gay man, Pedro, rather introverted, making his living by the Internet, his own website with paying viewers. His specialty is painting himself with a variety of luminescent colours. He is supported by his sister, a journalist, to whom he has been close since they were children. He also has a good relationship with his grandmother.

He is in difficulties because he was bullied as a child, tormented at college, dropping out of his course, taunted and suddenly breaking out in anger at one of the bullies, piercing his eye and blinding him. He is about to go to a court case, being advised by lawyers to be honest about the situation and the taunts – but careful about the prejudices of the judge.

As his customers drop off, he encounters a hopeful-dancer, Leo, with whom he formed forms a bond. In fact, Leo joins him online with performance – some of which is quite explicit.

Leo has an ambition to get a scholarship to train in dancing in Argentina but misses out, one of his close group of friends getting the scholarship. As he and Pedro continue their relationship, a strong affection between the two, it emerges that Leo has been offered another scholarship, this time in Berlin, and intends to go.

At a party, Pedro leaves early and is followed by some gay-bashers and he is involved in a fight with him, Leo coming to his rescue.

There is a sequence with a twist when he goes to a bar and thinks he is being picked up by a customer only to find, after the sexual encounter, that the man was picking him up and demands money. Once again, Pedro breaks out in violence against the man.

He has some time alone with Leo before his departure but then is left on his own, a broken relationship, facing the court case – and eventually weeping. It is over two and the audience to imagine his future.


There is quite some pathos and empathy for the characters – and both Pedro and Leo are played by actors in the first film role.