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The Edge of Democracy

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

The Edge of Democracy

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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.

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Critics Reviews

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Justin Chang FilmWeek (LAist) 10/01/2019
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. Go to Full Review
Leslie Felperin Guardian 06/21/2019
4/5
Costa manages to craft an intimate primer about the state's descent into populism and the fraying of the country's democratic fabric. Go to Full Review
Ela Bittencourt NPR 06/20/2019
Engrossing... Go to Full Review
Derick Gomez PopMatters 11/20/2020
[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. Go to Full Review
Film Companion Staff Film Companion 10/28/2020
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. Go to Full Review
Carlos Bonfil La Jornada 06/29/2020
[Has] the rhythm and intensity of a political thriller. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Alexsander F Jul 17 Absolute stunner! There's so much you have to know... See more William M 05/09/2023 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. See more rafael z 03/19/2021 Filme de propaganda política, pautada em inverdades. See more 09/17/2020 The sad true story about politics in Brazil. See more 09/06/2020 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. See more 08/03/2020 Hallucinated fiction See more Read all reviews
The Edge of Democracy

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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
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