Divine Love — Divine Love (Blu Ray)
Divine Love is a late 2010 Brazilian film that blends martial drama with dystopian sci-fi with a lowercase D. It regards a female bureaucrat who revels in bringing back those from the ledge of divorce, and with her florist husband, is part of a cult that believes in pure love ‘n’ god- via dance parties, ritualistic group bonding, and pink-lit orgies. It’s certainly a thought-provoking, if slightly vapid film, that’s well-scoped/realised, often edged with neon colourings. Here from Second Run is a recent Blu-ray release of the film, taking in a 4K scan, and an interview with the writer/ director
Divine Love (Divino Amor) is from the year 2019. It was directed, co-written, and stars in a supporting role by Recife, Brazil born Gabriel Mascaro. Between the early 2000s and the present day, he has had seven other features to his name. These take in four documentaries: The Beetle KFZ-1348 (2008), High-Rise (2009), Avenida Brasília Formosa (2010), and Housemaids (2012). Onto the lulling-paced coastal drama August Winds (2014), lose-plotted / trippy drama regarding a rodeo worker Neon Bull (2015), and age-focused dystopian sci-fi The Blue Trail (2025)
After the rather lengthy lighting of a neon sign credits, we drop down into a bright/ seemingly positive dance party, as a slightly robotic-sounding child voiceover details that the year is 2027, and Brazil is a country that is both highly secular and in a controlled state.
Fairly soon, we get to meet our lead, Joana(Dira Paes), a thirtysomething bureaucrat- who ties up the loose ends/ sign ‘n’ seal for divorce- but she goes above & beyond her post, by convincing the couples not to break up. We find out she has eleven successes thus far, and has a room in her house decorated with the pictures of her successes.
She is married to working-from-home florist Danilo(Julio Machado), who, to be honest, is a rather vaguely drawn character. The pair are most keen to have a baby- he tries hanging upside down, with his bits bathed in red light. And she props a pillow up, exposing her ladyhood to the sun. But together they are jointly in the cult of the Divine Love, who meet in a pink light-hazed & neo-edged room, discussing scripture, carrying out ritualised team bound, and get up to a bit of couple swapping.
There’s no doubt Mascaro has an eye for both moody & brightly arty imagery- the presentation of Joana's work encounters has an almost early Cronberger quality, while the cult meetings/ related are more heady/ lush. And the counterbalance between these two is fairly rewarding.
The film questions love, faith, and belief in state control well enough, with the plot unfolding being rewarding enough, if somewhat drawn out in places.
On the less positive side of things, one of my big bugbears/ dislikes is child narration- and boy, there’s a fair bit of it here. The acting in the film shifts between being somewhat flat and emotionally nuanced. The sexualized elements clearly want to be edgy, but largely sit in the soft-lit/ flaccid softcore side of things. And finally, the pacing is mixed- moving between lulling arty and more frenetic/ dramatic.
This recent region-free disc takes in a very crisp and clear 4k scan. Aside from three different trailers, we get an interview with the director from 2019 (14.04). He moves from talking about wanting to creating an artificial world- where a dream becomes true, but it is bigger than expected. He talks about how lead Paes is known/ respected in Brazil, and was the perfect choice to sell the sense of devotion & need. It’s a decent/interesting enough interview, though padded with a few too many clips of the film.
The release is finished off with a glossy twenty-page booklet. It takes in a new four and a half piece about the film by David Jekins. A page-long director's statement and a two-and-a-half page Q&A with Mascaro. Along with a few stills from the film/ on set.
The idea of a film set in a dystopian & bureaucratic reality, which is unfed by a neon-edged/ loving god cult, sounds promisingly provocative. But I’m afraid Divine Love lacks the bite or edge that is needed, leaving us with a film that often drifts along in a rather vapid, if artfully shot manner. As we’ve come to expect from a Second Run release, we get a classy scan, and worthy extras on both the disc & in the inlay booklet.