The Man Who Copied (2003)

O homem que copiava (The man who copied)- 2003 - Brazil - Director: Jorge Furtado - Genre: Drama/Comedy - Stars: Lázaro Ramos, Leandra Leal, Luana Piovani e Pedro CardosoThis movie involves some conflicts experienced by André (Lázaro Ramos) a young shy and humble Brazilian who works in a copier to help his mother. They live together in a simple apartment in Porto Alegre, located in southern Brazil. The fact of moving away from the big centers in Brazil - São Paulo and Rio - is one of the interesting points that the film presents.André is very shy, and therefore an observer. He has binoculars to watch from afar what is happening around him. His neighbor Silvia (Leandra Leal)receives special attention in his observations. He knows whole her routine: she lives with her father and works in a clothing store. He decides to buy a gift for his mother, to get closer to Silvia, or at least to try, Silvia suggests a nightshirt, but this costs R$ 38.00 and André doesn't have the money.Lack of money is a big problem in his life, which can be seen already in the first scene of the movie. To buy the nightshirt he decides to make a copy of a note of R$ 50.00. From there the whole plot unfolds in an entertaining way. André approach Silvia, moreover, together with his friend Cardoso (Pedro Cardoso) he decides to steal an armored car and even wins the lottery. In other words, he gets what he wanted: money, lots of money.The film is narrated by André himself, which leads us to get an idea of how he perceives things, sees the world and his particularities. Perhaps there is some ambiguity in the title of this film, André, the man who copied leads a repetitive and somewhat dull life: his days are like copies, nothing happens, nothing changes, just the same thing, every day; and for him a little money would make all the difference in his life.This is the second feature film directed by Jorge Furtado, who was born in the city where the film is set. Furtado had directed several works for television, but it was with this film that his name became known. The story holds the attention because we hope and cheer for André to get what he wants. Moreover, it shows the difficulties of those living with little money, making some critique to the social inequality in Brazil. Winner of several film festivals around the world, highly recommended and successful in Brazil and outside also, it's a very interesting story to think about money and happiness.

This movie attempts to be an adventure/comedy/romance. The story starts showing André (Lázaro Ramos), a poor and so far honest guy working at the Xerox. Every conversation he has sound like a failed attempt of acting as an introvert - which might not be so noticeable for someone who is not Brazilian or isn't used with the language and the way it is spoken here. Although Lázaro is one of the most acclaimed Brazilian actors, his performance as André was very poor compared to his other parts.The movie proceeds to attempt to show a romance between André and Silvia, a girl he spies at and works nearby. Their conversations and moments together sound completely empty and acted.When André decides to make money at any cost and drops his honest self the movie goes on action mode, with a rushed plot after more than half of it was just André introspecting. After much bad acting, the movie has a nice yet a bit far from reality ending.

The outstanding director Jorge Furtado debuts with this simple but brilliant movie. The plot is about a normal, and poor, guy, with dreams and a distant love, like everyone one of us had once in life. Lázaro Ramos is in an astounding performance, Andre becomes a very touchable character, and we laugh and cry with his plans to make money to finally approach his real love. Speaking in Andre's love interest we need to talk about Leandra Leal in a very competent and flawless performance she makes a sweet, but rather deep and human, girl. The chemistry between them is very believable and make the plot sound amazingly near to the audience.The work of Jorge Furtado is memorable, the narrative is fast and very funny, the work with the cameras don't have a single flaw, making a clear and polite movie. The plot is simple but with creative, and believable, twists. The only point that deserves complains is the sound... Sometimes the sound editing is so unprofessional that i care about the Brazilian structure of cinema industry. Anyway it doesn't matter if you don't have a powerful 5.1 system in your room."O Homem que copiava" is a very competent movie, full of comedy and dramatist, with brilliant acting and an end that show us that the concept of good and bad are perfectly relative.10 out of Ten!

'Money is only paper that people believe is worth something. If nobody believes it, it's useless,' says Andre, a young man who works as a paper copier in a store but really wants to work as a cartoonist. Too bad that everyone believes that money is a very useful piece of paper. Andre doesn't make enough money. His paycheck is low and he struggles with his meager budget, which allows him to buy and do very little. Everyday, he thinks of different ways to make money. The need of money can make a person do some desperate things and Andre becomes desperate when he meets the girl of his dreams. He needs money to spend on her. His desperation leads him to make some very questionable choices.Andre's character is so likable that I couldn't help but cheer him on to succeed in his dreams. I hoped that he would not get in trouble or hurt. The people around him like his girlfriend Sylvia, his co-worker Marinez, and her friend Cardoso are all appealing characters to watch. This is a fun movie to watch with interesting twists and turns to the very end. It's a good story with a good ending.