Muritiba’s film is a febrile tale set in Brazil’s North East. The set up is simple. Daniel, a jaundiced cop who is going through a midlife crisis, has fallen for Sara, an on-line crush. Suspended from work and exhausted by having to look after his elderly father, Daniel flips and sets off to find Sara, who has lately gone off-line and abandoned him. Hunting down Sara in a small town proves harder than he expected, until he gets a call from a friend of hers and they finally hook up. Only for Daniel to discover, a la Lola, that she was a he. The film then becomes about Daniel seeking to come to terms with his attraction to a bloke, and Robson/ Sara struggling to keep his/her life together as it looks as though his secret is about to get out. Deserto Particular is a film that is constantly on the point of coming to a climax that it constantly puts off. Gender identity has become one of the dominant themes of twenty first century culture. It’s an issue that crosses geographical boundaries and as such offers a film employing this thematic a universal appeal, however, it is also becoming something of a cliché, and it’s not hard to guess where Deserto Particular is headed long before it gets there. What makes the film hold up are the performances. Antonio Saboia as Daniel retains a convincing macho aura, even as his infatuation with Sara threatens to overwhelm him. But stealing the show is Pedro Fasanaro as Sara/Robson. Fasanaro gives a beautifully restrained performance, as convincing as Robson hanging out with his workmates as he is as a femme fatale. It’s a beguiling performance which helps to steer the film beyond melodrama.
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