Cinema
Assault on the Pay Train
Assalto ao trem pagador
Roberto Farias · 1962
Synopsis
In June 1960, the gang of Tião Medonho, a criminal leader in a Rio favela, attacks with a machine gun a train carrying the railwaymen's pay and seizes twenty-seven million cruzeiros. So as not to attract attention, the men undertake to spend only a small part of the loot. Tião redistributes some of it to his community; his second-in-command, Grilo, buys himself a convertible car and frequents the wealthy districts. The police, who at first believe in an international gang, grope their way along.
Context
The film is inspired by a real event: in 1960, near the Japeri station, the gang of Sebastião de Souza, known as Tião Medonho, robbed a train of the railway company. Produced by Herbert Richers from a story by Alinor Azevedo and Luiz Carlos Barreto, it takes up, according to Senses of Cinema, the narrative codes of popular cinema while carrying the social criticism of Cinema Novo. Reginaldo Faria, the director's brother, plays Grilo, alongside Eliezer Gomes, Grande Otelo and Ruth de Souza.
Who it is for
A genre film of an hour and a half, easy to follow; it circulates on DVD with English subtitles.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as one of the most influential Brazilian films, it anticipates, according to Senses of Cinema, works such as La Cité de Dieu.
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