The Edge of Democracy

2019 2h 1m PT

🙌

7.7

BANGER

★7.7TMDB · 388

Documentary

Synopsis

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A cautionary tale for these times of democracy in crisis—the personal and political fuse to explore one of the most dramatic periods in Brazilian history. With unprecedented access to Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva, we witness their rise and fall and the tragically polarized nation that remains.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Dilma Rousseff
Self
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Self
Michel Temer
Self
Eduardo Cunha
Self
Jair Bolsonaro
Self
Sérgio Moro
Self
Paulo Maluf
Self
Jean Wyllys
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Petra Costa
Writers: Petra Costa, Carol Pires, David Barker
Languages: Portuguese
Countries: Brazil

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 6

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Petra Costa, shot by João Atala. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Lucas Santtana. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Barker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

CAST

Did you know

Dilma Rousseff and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Michel Temer carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt6016744 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Petra Costa directs. João Atala behind the camera. Lucas Santtana scores. David Barker cuts. Produced in Brazil. Dialogue in Portuguese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 7 years ago.
2Directed by Petra Costa, shot by João Atala. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Lucas Santtana. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor David Barker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Dilma Rousseff and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Michel Temer carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt6016744 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: João Atala
Original score: Lucas Santtana
Editing: David Barker
Runtime: 121 min · 2h 1m
Status: Released
Original language: PT
IMDB: The Edge of Democracy (2019)

Also by

Petra Costa

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

rsanek2021-01-10
★ 4/10
Stopped after watching half. Not sure what it was, but the storytelling never grabbed me and I found it both too slow (constant interruptions of the core story with uninteresting personal recollections) and too fast (not enough time setting up the historical context and showing the sequence of events clearly).
Pcorn'n'Spectacle2022-02-23
★ 10/10
One of the best documentaries I've ever watched. Offers an in depth dicussion of the rise and fall of the socialdemocratic party in Brazil with an artisanal and thrilling 1.p-pov narrative.
CinemaSerf2026-09-25
★ 7/10
You know what I'd like to see? Brazil's TV Globo making a two hour documentary about political corruption in the USA. Let's start with Nixon, then Bush/Gore, Clinton/Lewinski, Trump/Clinton, Trump/Biden, Trump... anybody. Then add in an impotent and acquiescent Congress and then finally ask the self-appointed arbiters of world cinema - AMPAS - to give it an Oscar! What chance, eh? Well instead of dreaming, we have this sadly quite depressing analysis into the deeply polarised political situation in a Brazil latterly torn between supporters of Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva - both elected Presidents of a population of some 220-odd million souls. Using an impressive array of archive footage and some unusually candid access to both of these controversial individuals, themselves, this attempts quite successfully to illustrate just how divided a country Brazil is and just how toxic and corrupt it's political system is. Judges who lead investigations into alleged criminals then end up presiding over their trials. Allegations are bandied about, ten-a-penny, and then adjudged by a senate whose attitudes to impeachment are rarely troubled by evidence but operate more along much more vitriolic party lines. The court system is so closely integrated into the political one that it's difficult for even the most open-minded observer to remain convinced for long that it can hope to be remotely independent - even if it wants to be. Video evidence from heated parliamentary debates, votes and from commission hearings all show us just how ill-tempered the process of government was/is, but this isn't going on in isolation. On the streets of giant conurbations like Sao Paolo the population are unafraid to take to the streets in support of or to decry their officials. Political success here is a fickle thing and there's barely a voice for democracy and cohesion to be heard so it's not hard to see why both Rousseff and da Silva manage to carry the support they have. Charisma is key, here, and in how many other nations around the world has that skillfully papered over the cracks of venality, nepotism and greed? The sheer vastness of this nation; the diversity of geography, opinion and the obvious poverty gaps and aspiration vacuums are writ large for us to see here and, usefully, without any narration to steer us to any pre-determined conclusion. We are left to appreciate more as a fly on the wall and as we progress, I was left concluding that this is essentially two separate nations with abudant resources trying to share the same space, and that any semblance of truce between the activists of both sides is unlikely to manifest itself anytime soon.