It's SFist Wendy and Liana, chatting about Tuesday night's movie!

We were pumped to be headed to the SFIFF again this year with our friend, Liana, who’s from Brazil. We’ve seen several Brazilian films together at the festival over the years, and this year we had a number of good options, but decided on 12 Labours, a film by Ricardo Elias.

12 Labours is the story of Heracles, a young Brazilian boy, recently released from one of Sao Paulo’s notorious juvenile jails back onto the streets. With the help of his cousin, Heracles lands a job as one of the city’s numerous motorbike couriers, and (like his mythological namesake) is in no time dispatched on what becomes twelve jobs or tasks. After the film, we shared reactions with Liana and talked with her about how she thought 12 Labours compared to other Brazilian films, like City of God, Carandiru, Bus 174, and Favela Rising.

L: I really liked it and thought it reflected real lives and attitudes of Brazilians - it was sad, though. It seems that most of the Brazilian films that make it in the international arena are pretty much the same story (at least the ones I have seen, which I don't know are totally representative of the Brazilian film industry) ... a story of survival of poor people in Brazil ... but since most of the population lives in those circumstances, I guess those are the stories to tell. . . .

More of Liana and SFist Wendy's conversation about Brazilian life after the jump!

W: Do you think that Heracles and his cousin's characters were fairly typical or true to
life of young Brazilians? We didn't really get a whole lot of information from the film regarding Heracles’ background other than the fact that he’d just been released from juvie jail. Based on what you saw, what do you think his life was like growing up?

L: I don't think Heracles’ life differed much from that of the characters in the other Brazilian films we mentioned. They are all often about the struggles of people trying to make it. I think Heracles grew up extremely poor, which is why he was drawn to the crowd of car thieves mentioned in the film. I think his life was typical of the lives of poor Brazilians - the rich & middle class have a totally different life. And, the scene in the film where Heracles was required to pay off the cop to avoid getting a ticket was totally realistic - sad but true.

W: Did you leave the film with any kind of impression as to what would happen to Heracles in the future?

L: I left with the impression that Heracles would make it and not go back to his old criminal ways.

12 Labors plays again on Saturday, May 5 at the Kabuki at 4:30 p.m., and in Palo Alto at the Aquarius on Monday, May 7 at 9:15 p.m.