The Trespasser

São Paulo business associates Ivan and Giba (Ricca and Borges) conspire to solve their construction company's problems by disposing of the third partner and main shareholder. Simple, until it transpires that hitman Anisio (Miklos, wiry and compelling) has his own social-climbing agenda. Switching between horrifying sang froid and clownish humour, he rapidly ingratiates himself into the men's workplace and the bed of the young heiress he's orphaned. It's through Anisio's parasitic progress that this bitterly funny film points out the chasm dividing São Paulo's affluent modern quarters and dingy ghettos. Giddy hand-held shots and lurid colours complement the taut atmosphere, as Ivan seeks escape through a feverish affair, while cocky Giba plays the family man at home and lords it at the nightclub/brothel he secretly owns. The succinctly unpolished, pacy approach makes for a striking thriller in every sense. Even the soundtrack is imaginatively employed, countering standard preconceptions of Brazilian music. It's a torrent of vitriolic HipHop and thrash metal, with translated lyrics offering as much insight as the dialogue: 'Welcome to the nightmare of reality.' (From a novel by Marçal Aquino.) AHa.