If I Give My Soul (2014)
In Brazil, inmates of prisons and jails are almost exclusively poor, black, uneducated males - society's lowest. In locations that have never been filmed and with stories that have never been told, this documentary examines how five Brazilian inmates have coped with this profound social stigmatization as well as Rio's brutal justice system by joining prison-based, inmate-led Pentecostal Churches. The film spotlights five prisoner's personal stories and uses social science methods to investigate if this religion is simply an "escape" for the oppressive conditions, if it's an elaborate show for the guards and justice system, or if their faith and experience represent something more.
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The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.