7 Prisoners Review: Alexandre Moratto's Drama Is Chilling & Powerful

[Night hunter]

While often hard to watch, 7 Prisoners is an important film that dissects its characters and the bleak world they find themselves embroiled in.

7 Prisoners, from director Alexandre Moratto, is steeped in devastation and layers that punctuate the stark realities of laborers, power structures, and dynamics. Co-written by Moratto and Thayná Mantesso, the film, set in Brazil, is gruesome and bold, deeply nuanced and unrelenting in its exploration of power — who wields it, who is hurt by it, and how those at the very bottom of the rung can transition from the oppressed to the oppressor. While often hard to watch, 7 Prisoners is an important film that dissects its characters and the bleak world they find themselves embroiled in.

Mateus (Christian Malheiros) spends his days working the fields in the countryside. The 18-year-old lives with his mother and sisters, with big dreams to go to college and become an engineer. To make money to support his impoverished family, and to leave the field work behind for good, Mateus takes a job in São Paulo with three other young men — Ezequiel (Vitor Julian), Isaque (Lucas Oranmian), and Samuel (Bruno Rocha). They're tasked to work in a junkyard that immediately looks like a prison. The mattresses are dirty and dank, the area is surrounded by barbed wire fences, and their boss Luca (Rodrigo Santoro) carries a gun to keep them in line. Forced to strip copper and do other laborious work, Mateus quickly realize that they’re not allowed to leave and everything they need, including food, is a part of their debt that Luca tracks to ensure it’s paid off. And as Mateus learns the ropes and gets in with Luca, the lines between right, wrong, and power begin to blur.