Apocalypse in the Tropics
(Brazil/USA/Denmark, 109 min.)
Dir. Petra Costa
Programme: Special Presentations (Canadian premiere)
Back in 2019, Brazilian filmmaker Petra Costa exploded the powder keg of her native country’s political climate in The Edge of Democracy. That Oscar-nominated epic spans nearly two decades of Brazilian politics by examining through a personal lens. Costa’s sense-making of her country’s populist swing captures the mania of populism spanning the globe. That film focuses on the respective rises and falls of Brazilian presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff as Costa considers how corruption precipitates the collapse of the left and sets the stage for the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro. But what The Edge of Democracy doesn’t show is the larger spiritual movement that fixed Bolsonaro’s ascension. This riveting and enlightening film proves an essential view of history in the making.
Apocalypse in the Tropics picks up more or less where The Edge of Democracy leaves off. The documentary serves as an indirect continuation of Costa’s prior work. One doesn’t need to have seen The Edge of Democracy, but it probably helps. Both docs offer complicated and dense essays that, at times, can feel like information overload even if one knows the gist of the proceedings. For all the heady nature of the two docs, though, Costa examines tumultuous and convoluted years rife with twists in political fortune. They’re gripping and provocative considerations assess contemporary events with thoughtfulness and clarity. Brazil’s contemporary political history proves overwhelming to process, but living it seems a miracle.
However, Apocalypse in the Tropics may test one’s patience with miracles. Costa interrogates a crisis of faith that sweeps Brazil. Moreover, she looks to the roots of a festering theocracy with the rise of evangelicalism in her country. People flock to the extremes of Christianity in escalating numbers with a third of Brazilians identifying as evangelicals by November 2024. Key to this movement is famed televangelist Silas Malafaia. The preacher wields considerable influence with the Brazilian masses, doubly so when innovations in technology give everyone a camera and the ability to amplify his message. His endorsement therefore carries considerable weight.
Thanks to the truly astonishing access that Costa enjoys here, as she does with Edge of Democracy, Apocalypse in the Tropics provides an accessible insiders’ view of the manipulation of the political process with views from every player in the field. She gets glimpses behind the scenes as Bolsonaro rises from being something of a nobody to the top contender. Even though Costa openly eschews lefty politics, even the far-right players bask in her attention. This doc proves the riches of a politician’s love for the camera, and the true magic that happens when subjects grant access to the media regardless of their political inclinations. Bolsonaro’s openness may be naïve, but few docs offer such a stark window into the machinery of a populist regime.
This access also provides some jaw-dropping evidence of the dissolution of the line between church and state. Apocalypse in the Tropics opens with a crew of the faithful, including one pastor/congressman, blessing the seats of congress. The believers call upon Christ to guide their elected leaders. It’s an unsettling sight.
Equally concerning are the expressions of faith by players in the political process in the arena. One glimpse behind the scenes sees First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro speaking in tongues to celebrate decision in her party’s favour. These evangelical incantations offer a surreal recurrence in Costa’s film. Moreover, Costa observes how Bolsonaro harnessed his wife’s faith to give himself an advantage with the shifting demographics of Brazil. Promoting his middle name, Messiah, and enjoying a rebirth in the river, Bolsonaro becomes a God-given son to the masses.
Costa dextrously structures her film to consider the perversion of religion in the name of power. She asks how a god who preaches peace and love inspires such a lack of empathy. People who use their office to further one extreme of society at the expense of the poor, hungry, and needy seemingly miss the message.
Things get biblical in Costa’s ruminations, too, when the doc hits the inevitable COVID-19 chapter. Chilling images recall Brazil’s astonishing death toll. In the face of science and evidence-based protocols, Bolsonaro and his team opt to treat COVID with prayer. The death toll rises with Old Testament fury. Drawing upon scripture and philosophical texts alike, Costa lucidly conveys the president’s failure to learn from the gospels that supposedly inform him. But she also vividly captures how the colossal loss leaves vulnerable people eager to believe their Messiah.
As Bolsonaro’s term progresses, his abuse of power grows. Costa skips ahead in the Bible and views Brazil’s state of affairs through the lens of the Book of Revelations. Divine paintings conjure the passages about Christ returning to Earth to avenge the faithful. One senses the brewing tension in both the political landscape and general populace. And yet the awesome access remains. Malafaia invites Costa on his private jet as he goes to meet the president. COVID mask pulled beneath his chin, he tells her how much the plane costs, showing little concern for the sleazy Jim Bakker vibe he exudes on his swanky jet fuelled by Christ’s love. Throughout the proceedings, as Malafaia collegiately chats politics over coffee and cake, Costa observes unfiltered views that inform and influence Bolsonaro. It’s a chilling glimpse at the unchecked power of a third party.
These tensions brew a hunger for change and Lula returns to the political circus for the 2022 election. As Bolsonaro’s fortune falters, Costa witnesses the downfall of another regime, but the healthy might of democracy. Jarring footage captures the crowds of January 2023 as they descend on Brasilia’s political chambers and courts, desecrating the nation’s political offices after Bolsonaro refuses to concede and flees to the USA. The parallels between the Brazilian mob of January 8 and the American insurrectionists of January 6, 2021 are clear. And yet without ever needing to utter the expletive “Trump” in her thoughtful voiceover, Costa’s layered essay situates her nation’s political unrest within a larger global crisis.
The difference here is that Apocalypse in the Tropics observes an eye of the storm. As the final title cards note, Bolsonaro faces accountability for inciting the mob. Trump’s re-election offers fodder for other documentaries, but Costa finds prophetic grandeur in Brazil’s defense of its civil structure. It’s a clarion call to preserve our democratic rights.
Apocalypse in the Tropics screens at Hot Docs 2025.
It streams on Netflix later this year.
Get more coverage from this year’s festival here.
