The Edge of Democracy
Petra Costa's intimate political documentary turns Brazil's recent upheaval into a haunting study of democratic fracture and populist power.
Overview
A powerful exploration of Brazil's political turmoil through personal stories and historical events.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Mild
- urgent
- melancholic
- disturbing
- civics study
- political discussion
What critics said
Critics broadly praise Petra Costa's absorbing, passionate, and intimate account of Brazil's democratic crisis, emphasizing its historical scope and disturbing relevance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Petra Costa connects her family's political and industrial past to Brazil's contemporary democratic crisis.
The film combines archival footage of Lula and Dilma Rousseff's rise and fall with footage Costa records amid protests and institutional upheaval.
Ground-level riot footage is contrasted with drone images soaring above Brasília, reinforcing the filmmaker's simultaneous participation and distance.
The film traces Brazil's political fracture, the fall of elected leaders, and the nation's movement toward autocracy.
Films like The Edge of Democracy, and why
The Act of Killing
political documentary examining democratic crisis, polarization, and the abuse of state power through intimate testimony and archival material
The Look of Silence
first-person political documentary combining personal history with a national reckoning and archival evidence
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom
urgent documentary portrait of political upheaval, populism, and institutional breakdown
Collective
intimate nonfiction investigation of political power, public institutions, and national division
Movie Details
- Director
- Petra Costa
- Release Date
- 2019-01-24
- Runtime
- 121 min
- Rating
- 7.7 / 10 (388)
Cast
- Dilma Rousseff
- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
- Michel Temer
- Eduardo Cunha
- Jair Bolsonaro
- Sérgio Moro
- Paulo Maluf
- Jean Wyllys
- Aécio Neves
- Gilberto Carvalho
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Edge of Democracy about?
- Petra Costa's intimate political documentary turns Brazil's recent upheaval into a haunting study of democratic fracture and populist power.
- What is The Edge of Democracy like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Edge of Democracy as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is The Edge of Democracy violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Edge of Democracy as mild.
- What did critics think of The Edge of Democracy?
- Critics broadly praise Petra Costa's absorbing, passionate, and intimate account of Brazil's democratic crisis, emphasizing its historical scope and disturbing relevance.
- Which films are like The Edge of Democracy?
- Films with a similar feel include The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence, Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom, and Collective.
- How long is The Edge of Democracy?
- The Edge of Democracy runs 121 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Edge of Democracy?
- In United States, The Edge of Democracy streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
