A Time Of Great Mischief: Secret Agent

 


This sprawling political thriller set in 1970s Brazil is exhausting but in a good way. I cannot begin to explain the plot but suffice to know that Marcelo or was it Armando (Wagner Moura) is heading to Recife to visit his son. He has a shady past, and is on Government business at a time of political upheaval, change and corruption ( The Time Of Great Mischief) and here he crosses paths with political refugees led by the aging, chain smoking Dona ( the amazingly charismatic Tania Maria) a corrupt police department and contract killers wanting him dead. 

Tania Maria

It’s an odd film, but one that is literally bursting with the mise en sense of Latin America at its most threatening , where life is cheap and where the city feels one step away from being Sodom and Gomorrah.
A simple pit stop at a country petrol station is laced with tension as the police stop our hero fully aware that a thief has lied dead in the forecourt for almost a week, a shark is killed with the remains of a police killing in its stomach and where a Jewish holocaust refugee is pointless mocked by a police officer. 
Moura is impressive in the lead role, always sad, but wise, but I was tired after three hours of complicated political shenanigans. 

After the movie we treated ourselves to mac and cheese( bloody lovely) 


And I came home and watched the final episode of Call The Midwife . Now I have to be honest here I have never watched one episode before ( it’s gone on for 15 seasons) but this one featured the death of an elderly nun Sister Monica Joan ( Judy Parfit) whose death scene had me blubbering all evening ….when she asks the ghost of Sister Evangelina who has thoughtfully come to collect her“ What’s it like where I will go?” I was in buckets…….





 

16 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:36 am

    John I’m getting a vibe from your last several posts that all is not well with you health wise.
    I very very much hope I’m wrong.
    Much love to you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’m not unwell anon and I’m not waiting for a wisecracking nun to collect me just yet

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:38 pm

      I do apologise John, and am glad the nuns have been stood down.

      Delete
  2. I've not seen every episode but Call the Midwife has been a terrific tv show, as it as transitions through years and religion became less relevant. Thanks for the spoiler. The final episode has not been shown here yet.

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  3. Anonymous11:46 am

    mac and cheese looks very mouth wateringly good

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  4. Oh gosh it seems you went from one extreme to the other with your weekend viewing. I have watched every episode of Call the Midwife, the early ones were fantastic. It bowed out well for it's long pause, as they all seem to be calling it. Later this year there is to be a prequel in the form of a three part war years special, which should be really good.

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  5. The movie sounds complicated maybe exhausting. I have seen probably 10 seasons of Call the Midwife. For the most part it is brilliantly written and produced. There is an underlying moral to almost every episode. When you have time, it is worth the binge.

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  6. Anonymous12:56 pm

    Krayolakris

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    Replies
    1. Krayolakris12:58 pm

      I meant to write, that everything in your post was so very appealing - especially the mac n cheese!

      Delete
  7. Barbara Anne1:00 pm

    That movie sounds way to complicated for me and am glad you recovered from it!
    For some reason, I never could get interested in Call The Midwife. Go figure.
    Happy Tuesday, John!

    Hugs!

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  8. please make that 'way too complicated'. Ta. No coffee yet is my excuse.

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  9. Not my type of film, too complicated for me. I'd struggle to follow the plot! I've never watched Call the Midwife, either. I can see, though, how, if you're feeling a little emotional anyway, it could tip you over the edge. That's one good reason why I don't think I could watch it. I don't have enough tissues! xx

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  10. You had me at 1970's South American shenanigans (which are still going on, look at Milei). A tad long, but intriguing....

    XOXO

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  11. I've always enjoyed Call the Midwife. I figured Sister Monica Joan would be going one of these days. I'll have to watch for these episodes...

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  12. I'm almost afraid to finish watching all of the episodes of Call the Midwife because just knowing that there are even entire seasons I have not watched yet is comforting to me. My son and his wife did the same thing with a series called Reservation Dogs. They have not yet watched the last episode because they do not want it to be over. I understand. I loved that series too.

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