Stray Dog

Directed by Beto Brant, Renato Ciasca. With Julio Andrade, Tainá Muller. Brant, a fearless filmmaker with a recognizable style, and his co-director take a critical look at mortality—not the violent deaths caused by Brazil's pervasive social ills, but the sneaky illnesses of cancer or depression, which even youth and love cannot prevent. The way in which the attractive, socially comfortable characters in Brant's film deal with the seriousness of life's curveballs is delineated with subtle finesse and a deep understanding of the fundamental changes involved in growing into maturity.