BRAFFTV FESTIVAL OPENING October 16, 2014 – Til Sobornia Do Us Part (Até que a Sbornia nos Separe)

A charming animation loosely based on the popular musical play “Tangoes & Tragedies” by Nico Gomez and Hique Nicolaiewsky, “Til Sobornia Do Us Part” made me laugh, squirm and sometimes groan.  The animation was wonderfully rendered and worked wonderfully in helping to tell the story.  As it was part of the BRAFFT festival, Brazil’s rapid industrialization/urbanization was at the forefront of my mind.  Old traditions are being lost, sometimes you think, thank goodness. sometimes not so much.  On reflection, I realized this is a classic story happening every day, everywhere; dealing with change is always stressful.

Greed is lampooned, love is made fun of and the destruction of the environment for profit is a crucial plotline.  The characters, including musicians Pletskaya and Kraunus, were well thought out, emotions extreme to make the points.  The only strange bit was the mother’s totally insane hatred of her daughter; could not figure that out.

All in all, it was a great film, a very well attended festival opening, and seemed to be a who’s who of the Toronto Brazilian community.

Animated / 91’ / 2013  Directed by: Otto Guerra and Ennio Torresan Jr

Reviewed by Bill Rankovic