Director Jason Kohn and producer Jared Goldman's Manda Bala (2007), translated as "send a bullet," explores the connections between political corruption and kidnapping in Brazil using expressive and at times sardonic visuals. The film particularly showcases the phenomenal cinematography of Heloisa Passos. Scenes of a frog farm, bullet-proofed cars, São Paolo rooftops, and an ear-reconstruction surgery, among many others, rock to captivating Brazilian music. (Kohn said he has "a large collection of Brazilian music and did about as much music research as anything else.") Even talking heads footage delivers a lot more than exposition. The filmmakers place both interviewee and translator in the same frame (above), to amplify conversational interactions and meanings.
