The Man of the Year (2003)

Too much of everything

Admirable film.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Maiquel (Murilo Benício) is a simple man living in Rio de Janeiro and after he loses a football bet he has to dye his hair blond. When he looks in the mirror he sees a different him and he likes what he sees.Then on entering his local bar, a local crim and trouble maker, Suel (a very young Wagner Moura), insults him. Maiquel broods on it and then decides to do something about it. This leads to his life changing beyond recognition as his actions catapult him from the scared ordinary man he was to something he had never dreamt of.Now to say anymore would spoil the plot and, more importantly, the fun, as this is a crime story, a comedy, a love story and a great watch all combined. Everyone plays their parts beautifully and the pacing is perfect. This is one of those films where if you blink you are going to miss something. The humour isn't forced either as it seems to play perfectly with the actual situations. There is some violence too so this is not a parody or anything and when it need to get serious it does not really pull its punches either. This is a film I completely loved and it is in Portuguese with some good sub titles, but not the best, and is one of those films where if you were not a fan of World cinema before you watched it, then you most certainly will be by the end.

THE MAN OF THE YEAR, directed by Jose Henrique Fonseca, is a peculiar addition to the Vigilante Film Genre. Set in a poor section of Rio de Janeiro, Maiquel is a man without direction, who murders a thug over an insult, becomes a hero in the community, and then morphs into a kind of 'Killer For Hire'. This populist gunman becomes the darling of the local business class who immediately realize his value as a protector of their interests. Usually films of this nature explore the justification for the anti-hero's actions, and show how his violent behavior changes his character. However, in this film the protagonist seems to be driven by indifference--he kills without compunction and doesn't have the slightest trace of a moral compass. Although Christianity is referenced numerous times by various characters in the film, THE MAN OF THE YEAR is really an exploration of a man who feels nothing when he kills, and is incapable of feeling guilt. Máiquel shows more emotion when his pet pig, Bill, is killed than when he guns down defenseless men. It's interesting to note that none of his killings are fair, or even justifiable-all of them are executions, and most of them are not even his idea. Maybe the director is trying to say that in the wretched favela of Rio, a horribly cruel system of justice is better than none at all.

this film started out very good and i thought i was in for a treat. i found it watchable as they managed to make me interested in the main characters but i was a let down by the plot in the end simply because it just did not fit my high expectations. the acting was what gave this film a pass but i think the plot and script let it down. i thought the plot had a lot of potential but turned out weak as some parts just don't fit together and their were some unnecessary scenes e.g him flirting with the dentist daughter while there was little character development so in the end i had a mixed feelings about recommending it as there is really nothing that special about it. it was also spoilt by some stupid things that u will only ever see in films but never in real life as things are just not done as easily as they make it look in this film.

The Brazilian film 'The Man of the year'has a simple premise - an easy going young man (M, or a Brazilian name like Michael that I can't spell) accidentally kills a local gangster. As a result, he is hailed as a hero by his community. Comrades of the gangster begin looking for him to exact revenge, while requests for his help become stranger with each passing day. Deciding to embrace the average, M marries and takes a job in a pet shop. M likes animals; he has a pet pig called Bill. Shortly after, with the gangsters closing in, his new wife throws a small dinner party for friends. Herein begins my dislike of this film. I could not continue watching after M's wife (the psychotic freak) killed, baked and served Bill, M's pet piggy, as a meal for her dinner party. It's just so wrong. Killing any animal is wrong, IMHO, and Bill was a pet, not a meal. The scene disturbed me, and I'll never watch the rest of this film. I'm only glad I watched it on free-to-air TV, and didn't buy a ticket / DVD. 1/10.