Movie · 1997 · Thriller, Drama, History · 1h 50m · R · PT
Curator score: 6.7/10 (37.5K ratings)
Their goal: freedom. Their only hope: an international incident. Their target: the American ambassador.
Overview
Fernando, a journalist, and his friend César join terrorist group MR8 in order to fight Brazilian dictatorial regime during the late sixties. César, however, is wounded and captured during a bank hold up. Fernando then decides to kidnap the American ambassador in Brazil and ask for the release of fifteen political prisoners in exchange for his life.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.7/10
IMDb: 7.4/10
Letterboxd: 3.77/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 59%
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
Bruno Barreto
Production
Miramax, Columbia TriStar, Petrobras
Cast
Alan Arkin, Pedro Cardoso, Fernanda Torres, Luiz Fernando Guimarães, Cláudia Abreu, Nelson Dantas, Matheus Nachtergaele, Marco Ricca, Maurício Gonçalves, Caio Junqueira, Selton Mello, Eduardo Moscovis, Waldir Onofre, Samir Murad, Charles Myara, Harry Stone, Fernanda Montenegro, Milton Gonçalves, Othon Bastos, Lulu Santos
Curator Review
Verdict
A tense political thriller with historical weight, anchored by a strong sense of moral pressure and urgency. It’s especially compelling if you’re interested in Latin American political cinema, hostage dramas, or stories about resistance under dictatorship.
Best for
viewers interested in Brazilian history and dictatorship-era politics
fans of hostage and negotiation thrillers
people who like political dramas with a moral gray zone
audiences drawn to 1990s international cinema
Skip if
you want a purely action-driven thriller
you prefer films that avoid political complexity
you’re looking for a light or emotionally easy watch
Overview
Four Days in September is a serious, tightly wound political drama built around a real historical crisis. It treats the kidnapping plot as both a tactical act of resistance and a moral trap, which gives the film its tension and its unease. The result is less about spectacle than about pressure, compromise, and the cost of armed struggle.
Worth noting
What makes it work is the balance between procedural suspense and political context. The film is interested in the machinery of repression as much as the rebels’ choices, and that gives it a broader historical sting. It can feel didactic at times, but the urgency of the material and the performances keep it grounded.
Bottom line
If you respond to films about state violence, revolutionary politics, and the messy ethics of resistance, this is a strong watch. It’s not a crowd-pleasing thriller, but it is an intelligent and often gripping one.
Top Letterboxd reviews
lauramagnus (4★) · 1922 likes
com certeza o episódio mais comunista de os normais
Caio Ribeiro Santos (4★) · 1682 likes
Acho balela esse papo de "esse filme é ruim pois tenta humanizar os torturadores". TÁ DE SACANAGEM? QUEM assiste esse filme e pensa "olha, até que os torturadores tinham emoções, tinham família, talvez eles fossem bonzinhos no fundo"??? Se alguém simpatiza com os torturadores, eu tenho uma notícia desagradável pra dar: não é culpa do filme.
Em nenhum momento esse é o foco principal do filme. A narrativa não é que os torturadores eram legais. Eles não são os protagonistas,… more
Catarina Afonso (3.5★) · 955 likes
Augustinho Carrara guerrilheiro é o Augustinho Carrara mais lindo que há
leo (3.5★) · 886 likes
Mas Maria, ninguém ouve música de trás pra frente.
Cauã (3★) · 849 likes
ou ela ta querendo me fuder ou ela ta querendo fuder comigo
1989 · Drama, Thriller · 1h 47m · R · Curator 5.6/10 (11.4K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A political drama about resistance to state brutality, with a strong sense of conscience and consequence.
Topics
political thriller, historical drama, hostage negotiation, dictatorship, state repression, Latin American cinema, moral ambiguity, 1990s cinema, activism, true-story inspired