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Brazil, Uruguay, Netherlands · 2016
1h 41m
Director Gabriel Mascaro
Starring Juliano Cazarré, Maeve Jinkings, Aline Santana, Vinícius de Oliveira
Genre Drama
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Iremar is a member of a rodeo troupe that tours the Brazilian Northeast, where his job is to send the bulls into the arena. A documentary-style narrative articulates a detailed portrait of the members of the rodeo, as the film meanders amongst their daily lives in-between scenes of remarkable action.
Village Voice by Alan Scherstuhl
No matter how rigorously worked out each shot and its action might be, Neon Bull always honors the chaotic looseness of everyday living — the way that, unlike in the movies, few of the moments we inhabit seem to be about just one thing.
The Hollywood Reporter by Boyd van Hoeij
Instead of a straightforward narrative arc for the small cast of characters, the film -- gorgeously shot and framed by Cemetery of Splendor cinematographer Diego Garcia -- combines a documentary-like look at their everyday lives with a fascinating if not entirely clear-cut exploration of body and gender issues.
Everything in the film is understood to be a subsumed sex act, with actual sex serving as a contextualizing catharsis.
Lyrically involving and deeply sensual, Neon Bull showcases a full-bodied artist in command of his form.
RogerEbert.com by Godfrey Cheshire
The latest example of what I call an emperor’s-new-clothes film is Neon Bull.
Although the narrative risks becoming arbitrarily episodic towards the end, Neon Bull is a genuine celebration of its characters and their grounded physical life as well as their obstinate ability to dream.
Mascaro’s film is an auspicious, original, and absorbing work that thrills with its look into this little-seen world and the dreamers that inhabit it.
The A.V. Club by Mike D'Angelo
Writer-director Gabriel Mascaro doesn’t really have a story to tell about these folks, but he does have a wealth of almost documentary-style detail to share, plus style to burn, and that’s nearly enough.
Neon Bull keeps a cinematic distance at nearly all times, seldom moving in for closeups and allowing most scenes to play out in a single shot. Whether his subjects are shoveling manure or showering down afterward, Mascaro prefers to celebrate these figures in their physical entirety.
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
Neon Bull is a profound reflection on the intersection of the human and bestial.
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