Journey to the End of the Night (2006)

If you ever doubted the impact that music has on movies just listen to Elia Cmiral's score in this film. From the titles on, it creates the perfect mood for this dark thriller set amongst the urban sprawl of Brazil's São Paulo.A combination of elements makes this movie seem better than it really is. Although it has a setting that is more likely to crop up on World Movies with sub-titles, I was surprised to find that it starred Brendan Fraser and Scott Glenn, and is in English for the most part.The film is set over the course of a single night. Sinatra (Scott Glen) runs a brothel in São Paulo. After inadvertently coming into possession of a large quantity of drugs, he is about to make a deal with a Nigerian gang, the proceeds of which will allow him to live comfortably in the US with his wife, former prostitute Angie, and their young son. He has the drugs, and the Nigerians have the money. He intends to hand the brothel over to his older son, Paul (Brendan Fraser). However Paul plans to hijack the deal and steal the money for himself. The plan starts to unravel when Sinatra's Nigerian go-between is killed; the Nigerian gang will only deal with a Nigerian. Sinatra enlists Wembe (Mos Def), a Nigerian dishwasher from the brothel to take the drugs to the gang and return with the money.This arrangement sets off a great deal of paranoia especially in Paul. Then, in the best traditions of the genre, chance intervenes to disrupt everyone's plans. Before the fade out, we are shown that there really isn't much honour among thieves especially down São Paulo wayThe setting is used to great effect and we get a feeling for the dangerous side of São Paulo. This obscures the fact that there are some fairly standard action scenes, and the downbeat finale also seems fairly standard for this kind of film. Brendan Fraser as Paul, taps his inner bad for this role – addicted to gambling and cocaine, in one scene he slices off the earlobes of a transvestite after a fight, and in another, to prove he is beyond redemption, he has an old man's dog shot.Scott Glenn always brings depth to his roles. He gains sympathy for his character despite the fact that he is not only a brothel owner, but has now also become a major drug dealer – showing how easily movies can distort values.The only character to emerge with dignity is Wembe, an unlikely hero who sticks to his word despite everyone's doubts, and attacks from all sides on the streets of the city.The film is worth a look just for the fact that a fairly typical plot has been transferred from the mean streets of Los Angeles or New York to the even meaner streets of São Paulo.

"Journey To The End Of The Night" is a disappointment.The plot: Paul (Fraser) is a pimp who lives in Brazil with his father Russo (Glenn). They have a drug deal planned. Their mule suddenly dies, and, desperate, Russo asks dishwasher Wemba (Def) to replace him. It doesn't go exactly as planned....The whole movie feels rushed. Something must have been cut out because it feels disjointed. There's no way this movie is 85 minutes long. If it was 2 hours it would've been better. The actors are good however. Def impresses again with a good performance. Fraser goes a little over the top but it works for his character. Glenn is always worth watching.If you like the actors, JTTEOTN is worth seeing, but overall it's a minor disappointment.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Prospective viewers, beware that this movie is completely devoid of substance and will provide you with a story that is neither intelligent nor coherent, neither insightful nor memorable. The story, which I found interesting for approximately the first 5-10 minutes or so, quickly devolves into foolishness and stupidity and, ultimately, leads nowhere. At one point, a soothsayer actually becomes, or seems to become, a central component of the plot. If that doesn't demonstrate to you how silly this movie is and how little it deserves your attention, I guess nothing will stop you from watching it.Let's assume that you do choose to view it. Just remember that as you watch it and increasingly ask yourself the questions "where is this plot going?" and "is all this going to come together at the end?", you are in for some nasty surprises. My friends, you are embarking on a long journey to nowhere. Can't say you weren't warned. Remember though: it's never too late to press the "stop" button on your remote!

This is an interesting work in the film noir/gangster genre. The story has to do with the bad blood between father and son, played out over one night in Sao Paulo. The tone and mood of the movie seem to reference many more famous, high profile films that deal with the same topic matter. This one seems very interested in stylization over telling a completely coherent story. And its this stylization that sets it above regular crime dramas. Bredan Fraser plays the loser, coke addicted son without any fear of looking bad. HIs performance is very emotional and wild. Not easy for any actor to pull off. His character is a villain without any morals. Made that way by his father, Scott Glenn, an initially likable, sympathetic sort, who, as the tale unravels, is not so nice a guy after all.By far, the film's hero, Mos Def (the only hero because everyone else is evil or not big enough to really know) gives a winning, career defining performance as a Nigerian immigrant who, out of loyalty to his employer, agrees to partake in a drug deal. The "raptor" gives a nuanced, thoroughly believable performance as wemba in maybe his best role as a film actor.The other big star of the film are the colors. The nighttime images and camera. It appears to be heavily saturated and grainy and apparently enhanced through the DI process. Cinematographer aficionados will surely want to see this for the interesting lighting.If the film has a flaw, I would cite an overall bleak and hateful tone of the script. Very anti- human being. The violence feels almost gratuitous with some shots of face slashing feeling too long or ultimately unnecessary. The squeamish will look away! But nothing very troublesome compared to the gore in the horror genre.Recommended to those who like dark material.