A maniacal work from Brazil's "Cinema Marginal" underground movement of the late '60s into the '70s, The Red Light Bandit feels like a film way ahead of its time with a frenetic, multi-layered approach that wouldn't hit American cinema until the days of films like Natural Born Killers. With its multiple dueling narrators, snarky commentary on local social policies, and twisted sense of humor, this hyperactive assault on the senses is the kind of film you'll either warm to immediately or feel completely exhausted by with in the first 20 minutes. Either way though it's a wild, bracing experience that should come as a shock courtesy of its first U.S. release via Severin's 2024 Blu-ray edition.

A coherent plot synopsis of this film is a challenge, but the gist involves the criminal exploits of the titular Red Light Bandit (Villaça), or simply "Mr. Light," a figure inspired by a real-life and eventually incarcerated robber (who gave a thumbs up to this unorthodox cinematic portrayal). Designed as a self-described "Third-World Western," it follows this outlaw on his anarchic crime spree involving theft, assault, and highly reckless driving, sometimes with the accompaniment of the equally unscrupulous Janete Jane (Ignez). Also thrown into the mix are investigating cops, some stripteasing with a snake, irritated politicians, and of course, a few shoot outs and murders.

It's impossible to watch this film without trying to pinpoint likely pop culture influences, with Orson Welles being the most overt but others likely including Breathless, Seijuz Suzuki, comic strips, Scopitones, and God only know what else. The use of radical imagery like revolutionary kids toting guns feels a lot edgier than the violence and fairly restrained nudity here, while the barrage of narration and looped dialogue keeps your ears fighting to keep up as much as your eyeballs. It's not wonder this made such an impression on Brazilian artists at the time, nor is it any wonder why this had zero export value at the time.

Time has since caught up with this one, which looks splendid on Severin's Blu-ray featuring a 2K restoration from the original camera negative. The patchwork of visual elements is in mostly pristine shape here, and the DTS-HD MA Portuguese 2.0 mono track is faithful to the very dense, aggressive sound mix; optional English subtitles are provided. "Cinema Marginal" (31m18s) with producer and film conservationist Paulo Sacramento covers the political and artistic trademarks of the movement (whose most famous contributor now was probably José Mojica Marins) and the "blending of intellects and individuals" found in films like this one. In "The Anti-Muse" (24m35s), Ignes looks back at the experimental film period, the revolutionary spirit in the air, and the joys of working in a creative ecosystem outside of the state government. Finally you get two insane short films: Rogerio Sganzerla's "Comics" (10m11s), a history of comic strips from the early days of Buck Rogers onward; and Jairo Ferreira's "Horror Palace Hotel" (40m43s) which comes with an intro by director Dennison Ramalho (5m32s). A wild Super 8 curio featuring names like Marins and Ivan Cardoso involved in stream-of-consciousness "interviews," it also captures various storied Brazilian cinematic figures at a screening series and pontificating about the nature of human existence.

Reviewed on July 23, 2024