Vazante 12/18 Blu-ray (Rental)

Product Description In the early 1800s, Brazilian slave trader Antonio (Adriano Carvalho) returned home to his struggling mountainside plantation to find that his wife had perished in childbirth. He turns to an arranged marriage with his barely teenaged niece Beatriz (Luana Nastas), but her bond with young farmhand Virgilio (Vinicius Dos Anjos) may lead to disastrous consequences. Daniela Thomas' stark black-and-white period drama co-stars Sandra Corveloni, Fabricio Boliveira. 116 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: Portuguese; Subtitles: English. In Portuguese with English subtitles. Review Vazante's explosive denouement - both shockingly sudden and implicitly foretold - suggests that the old ways cannot last, but that they won't give up without an ugly fight. --Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post The palette is alluringly exotic, but it's also expressive, with subtle shades - white, dove, slate, jet - that soon take on metaphoric resonance. --Manohla Dargis, New York Times