Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Edge of Democracy

Play trailer Poster for The Edge of Democracy Released Jun 19, 2019 1h 53m Documentary History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
97% Tomatometer 34 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
The beleaguered leaders of Brazil are followed as they deal with their ideologically divided country.
Watch on Netflix Stream Now

Where to Watch

The Edge of Democracy

The Edge of Democracy

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Assembled with absorbing insight and passion by director Petra Costa, The Edge of Democracy is a disturbing and expansive overview of how a democratic nation can teeter into autocracy.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More (34)
Justin Chang FilmWeek (LAist) This works very well as both a primer on the tumultuous last several years of Brazilian politics and also as a very passionate personal essay film. Oct 1, 2019 Full Review Leslie Felperin Guardian Costa manages to craft an intimate primer about the state's descent into populism and the fraying of the country's democratic fabric. Rated: 4/5 Jun 21, 2019 Full Review Ela Bittencourt NPR Engrossing... Jun 20, 2019 Full Review Derick Gomez PopMatters [T]he footage of mass progressive mobilizations serves as a timely reminder that there are countless like-minded people that are outraged and ready to push back to defend the rights they have attained over the decades. Nov 20, 2020 Full Review Film Companion Staff Film Companion Petra Costa's Oscar-winning documentary, stalking the rise and fall of two Brazilian Presidents during the country's socio-political crisis, is unflinchingly personal, and challenges our perception of "political" filmmaking. Oct 28, 2020 Full Review Carlos Bonfil La Jornada [Has] the rhythm and intensity of a political thriller. [Full review in Spanish] Jun 29, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More (174)
Alexsander F Absolute stunner! There's so much you have to know... Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/17/25 Full Review William M Não é um documentário! Filme patrocinado pelo Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) para mostrar a sua própria visão e suas narrativas políticas sobre os acontecimentos políticos durante sua permanência no poder executivo. Contém várias distorções históricas bem como inverdades sobre os fatos. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 05/09/23 Full Review rafael z Filme de propaganda política, pautada em inverdades. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/21/23 Full Review Audience Member The sad true story about politics in Brazil. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member How did we get to Bolsonaro? In 2020, this is a question on the minds of many political commentators. Edge of Democracy "Democracia em Vertigem" provides a convincing answer to this relevant question. Why did Jair Bolsonaro defeat former São Paulo mayor Fernando Haddad and become president of Brazil in 2018? Bolsonaro is a strongman. He has been dubbed the "Trump of the Tropics." He is an authoritarian leader who espouses populist, homophobic, and sexist rhetoric. How is it that Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world, elected someone so reactionary and appalling? The easiest answer: Bolsonaro was an imperfect antidote to the endemic corruption that has been so prevalent in Brazil for the past decades. Not long ago, Dilma Rouseff— the first woman to be elected as president in Brazil— was impeached for corruption. Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, another Workers' Party politician, was also arrested. Still other Workers' Party politicians have been mired by one of the biggest political scandals of the 21st Century— Operation Lava Jato (Car Wash). It seems that Brazilians sought out an alternative to this corruption. This is the perfect documentary for outside observers to understand how Brazil got to this point. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Hallucinated fiction Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Edge of Democracy

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Movie Info

Synopsis The beleaguered leaders of Brazil are followed as they deal with their ideologically divided country.
Director
Petra Costa
Producer
Joanna Natasegara, Tiago Pavan, Petra Costa, Shane Boris
Screenwriter
Petra Costa, Carol Pires, David Barker, Moara Passoni
Distributor
Netflix
Production Co
Netflix, Busca Vida Filmes
Genre
Documentary, History, Drama
Original Language
Brazilian Portuguese
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 19, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 19, 2019
Runtime
1h 53m
Most Popular at Home Now