JUSTIÇA

In Justiça, Maria Ramos puts a camera where many Brazilians have never been a criminal courtroom in Rio de Janeiro, following the daily routine of several characters. There are those that work there every day (public attorneys, judges, and prosecutors) and those that are merely passing through (the accused). The camera is used as an instrument that sees the social theater, the structures of power that is to say, what is, in general, invisible to us. With her options clear, and unobscured by her choice for sobriety and simplicity, Maria Ramos makes it evident that, like documentary making, justice is a long war from being impartial. How and for whom the judicial system works for is the fundamental question dealt with in this film, without providing any definite answers or making preconceived judgements. (Pedro Butcher)