''Rule 34'' () is a 2022

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film co-written and directed by Júlia Murat and starring Sol Miranda. The film is named after the Internet phenomenon

Rule 34 Rule 34 is a "rule of the internet" which claims that some form of pornography exists concerning every possible topic. The concept is commonly depicted as fan art of normally non-erotic subjects engaging in sexual activity. It can also include ...

. It follows a young law student who develops a passion for defending women in abuse cases. At the same time, her own sexual interests lead her into a world dominated by violence and eroticism. A co-production between Brazil and France, the film premiered at the 75th Locarno Film Festival on 10 August 2022, where it won the

Golden Leopard The Golden Leopard () is the top prize at the Locarno International Film Festival, an international film festival held annually in Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. Directors in the process of getting an international reputation are allowed to b ...

for Best Film. It was released theatrically in Brazil on 19 January 2023 by Imovision and in France on 7 June 2023 by Wayna Pitch.

Cast

* Sol Miranda as Simone * Lucas Andrade as Coyote * Lorena Comparato as Lucia * Isabela Mariotto as Nat *

Babu Santana Alexandre da Silva Santana (born December 10, 1979), known professionally as Babu Santana, is a Brazilian actor and singer. Born in Vidigal, Rio de Janeiro, Santana acted in plays at school since his 12 years and joined the theater group Nós do ...

as André * MC Carol as Nill

Production

Development

''Rule 34'' is the third feature film by Brazilian director and screenwriter Julia Murat. The film's title refers to the so-called

, an Internet maxim which asserts that Internet pornography exists concerning every conceivable topic. The project was part of the 2019 Berlinale Co-Production Market. Murat wrote the screenplay along with Gabriela Capello, Rafael Lessa and Roberto Winter.

Filming

Filming took place in 2019. However, the pandemic caused a 10-month delay in post-production. Lacking the funds to complete the film (due to the cessation of cultural funding under former President Bolsonaro), Murat received a grant in July 2021 as part of the Gothenburg Film Festival. Funding was provided by the festival's Audiovisual Fund, set up at the initiative of the Swedish government to protect democracy around the world. The film was also funded by FSA and Visions Sud Est.

Release

''Rule 34'' premiered at the 75th Locarno Film Festival on 10 August 2022, where it won the

for Best Film. It was also screened in the World Cinema section of the 27th Busan International Film Festival on 8 October 2022 and at the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival on 22 December 2022. It has been screened at over 50 festivals worldwide, earning more than 10 awards. The film was released theatrically in Brazil on 19 January 2023 by Imovision and in France on 7 June 2023 by Wayna Pitch and in Germany by Busch Media.

Reception

Critical response

Independent Swiss journalist Michael Sennhauser described ''Rule 34'' as "a playful, cleverly argued film with a clear provocative twist" and commented that, as with the competition entry ''Tengo sueños eléctricos'', which received three awards in Locarno, the film "clearly plays a role" that there is a female director behind the work. "Precisely because it

he film He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

moves in this area where personal freedom only works as long as they mutually agree that encroachment is negotiable", stated Sennhauser. Neil Young of ''

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...

'' dubbed it a "surprise winner". It is "a fascinating and ambitious third feature film" and "a sensual, intimate character study" by Murat. Newcomer Sol Miranda put on a "strong central performance" by a "multifaceted black woman ..in bustling Rio de Janeiro." With her play, she penetrates the didactic tendencies of the screenplay and the theoretical treatises disguised as dialogue. Young, however, criticized the "stylistically conventional" images by cinematographer Leo Bittencourt in comparison to the red-hot topics dealt with, which are kept "pervasively flat in TV style" and would therefore hardly lose their impact on the small screen. Lead actress Miranda shows a "convincing range of emotions" and the close-up is reminiscent of

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...

in '' Queen Christine'' (1933),

Bob Hoskins Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor and film director. Known for his intense but sensitive portrayals of "tough guy" characters, he began his career on stage before making his screen breakthrough pl ...

in ''

The Long Good Friday ''The Long Good Friday'' is a 1980 British gangster film directed by John Mackenzie from a screenplay by Barrie Keeffe. Starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren, the film, set in London, weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, inc ...

'' (1980) and

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera ''Peyton Place (TV series), Peyton Place'' and gained further recogn ...

in ''

The Purple Rose of Cairo ''The Purple Rose of Cairo'' is a 1985 American period fantasy romantic comedy film, written and directed by Woody Allen. Set in Depression-era New Jersey, it stars Mia Farrow as a film lover who flees her abusive husband (Danny Aiello) after ...

'' (1985). The French newspaper Le Monde called the film "a complex, powerful and sensual portrait of a woman, the like of which has rarely been seen in cinema".

Accolades

References

External links

* {{Golden Leopard 2022 films 2022 drama films 2020s Brazilian films 2020s French films 2020s Portuguese-language films BDSM in films Brazilian drama films Films about students French drama films Golden Leopard winners