# Brainstorm (2001)

> A middle-class Brazilian teenager is swallowed by a brutal psychiatric institution after his father mistakes a marijuana cigarette for proof that he must be confined.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/36775

## Facts

- Runtime: 84 min
- Genres: Drama
- Director: Laís Bodanzky
- Cast: Rodrigo Santoro, Othon Bastos, Cássia Kis, Dani Nefussi, Jairo Mattos, Altair Lima, Lineu Dias, Caco Ciocler
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0263124/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Mood: urgent, disturbing, harrowing, serious film night, social issue cinema viewing

## Synopsis

A harrowing journey through a mental institution reveals the dark side of a corrupt system.

## Movies like Brainstorm

- [The Son of a Thousand Men (2025)](https://ember.film/movie/7321684)
- [7 Prisoners (2021)](https://ember.film/movie/557875)
- [City of Men (2007)](https://ember.film/movie/3807)
- [Drained (2006)](https://ember.film/movie/26056)
- [Manas (2025)](https://ember.film/movie/3940264)
- [The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (2006)](https://ember.film/movie/8518)
- [Mars One (2022)](https://ember.film/movie/645936)
- [Central Station (1998)](https://ember.film/movie/542)
- [Lion's Den (2008)](https://ember.film/movie/4288)
- [Neighboring Sounds (2012)](https://ember.film/movie/67116)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt