Beautifully made tale of childhood and revenge from the director of the Oscar nominated, 'Central Station', Walter Salles. Set in the vast, lawless plains of rural Brazil around 1910, 'Behind the Sun' is narrated by eight-year-old Pacu (Ravi Ramos Lacerda), the youngest child in a family of impoverished sugar cane farmers. Engaged in a vicious feud with a neighbouring family for unspecified reasons, things get worse for Pacu's family when his older brother, Ignacio is murdered and another brother, Tonho (Rodrigo Santoro) is told to seek vengeance by their embittered father. However, Tonho realises that things will never change if he carries out his father's wishes and refuses.
A stunningly photographed but grim affair, Salles tackles big themes in 'Behind the Sun' with considerable skill. Nonetheless, it's a difficult film to watch and truly enjoy, perhaps because Salles maintains a slight distance from his main protagonists. To his credit, he never attempts to tie things up neatly at the end, but such is the ferocity of what has gone before, ensures that 'Behind the Sun' is one of those films that it's impossible not to admire but a little difficult to really love.
