Événement

Neon Bull

Wild, sensual and utterly transporting, Brazilian writer-director Gabriel Mascaro's second fiction feature unfolds within the world of the vaquejada, a traditional exhibition sport in which cowboys try to pull bulls to the ground by their tails. Neon Bull explores the vaquejada through the eyes of Iremar (Juliano Cazarre), a handsome cowboy who works the events. While he's not afraid to get his hands dirty, Iremar's real dream is to design exotic outfits for dancers.

"Astonishing." -New York Times Critics' Pick

"Stately, earthy, graphic, riveting." -The Village Voice

"Auspicious, original, and absorbing." -The Playlist

"With scalpel-like precision, Gabriel Mascaros second narrative feature frankly yet effortlessly explores sexuality, environmental issues, and suffering both human and animal." Violet Lucca, Film Comment

"Brazils social and economic inequities are the underlying concerns of every Mascaro projecthe also has a studio practice thats yielded several installationsbut, more than in any previous work, Neon Bull weds those concerns, without compromise, to an extraordinarily crafted, often painterly beauty." José Teodoro

"Subverting gender expectations in fresh and challenging ways, it was another of Venices highlights." Carmen Gray, Another Mag

"Mascaros striking imagery will stick with you long after the movie ends Mascaros most masterful upending has nothing to do at all with Brazilian stereotypes but is more universal. An immersion in the sights, sounds, and textures of nature, Boi Neon shows us how close we humans are to beasts, not so we shun it, tame it, or disguise it, but so we finally see that it is good." Shari Kizirian, Fandor

"a veritable life-forceyou can practically smell the characters sweat and feel the humidity they swelter in Like a young Wim Wenders, Mascaro allows the flow of travel to shape the narrative rather than force his itinerant characters into any familiar pattern. As such, NEON BULL feels more like a hang-out session than a story, and it grows more ingratiating the longer you spend with its subjects." Ben Sachs, Cine-File

Winner of the Horizons (Orizzonti) Special Jury Prize at the 2015 Venice Film Festival