Such a frustrating disappointment

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

This film is set in a remote Brazilian coastal community, and is slow - very, very slow. So slow, in fact, that the main plot line - the discovery of a corpse - doesn't even occur until close to the second half of the film.Up until then the viewer sees the daily life of the community: coconut-picking, the mending of fishing nets, the never-ending battle against flood waters. One of the main characters is Shirley, a young woman visiting from the big city, who cruelly practices tattooing on pigs. She starts a relationship with Jeison, a young man dominated by his father who becomes obsessed with looking after the afore-mentioned corpse while waiting for the police to arrive (when he and Shirley aren't finding a novel use for the coconut truck, that is). Shirley and Jeison are, I think, played by professional actors; but many of the supporting characters appear to be amateurs - certainly more than one of them - even the adults - look directly into the camera in the manner of a passer-by who has just wandered into shot, which at times gives the film a disappointing 'un-edited' feel.Still, once you get used to the slow, slooo-ooow pace, this isn't a bad film - and not just because of a couple of great nude scenes.