Manas tells the story of a Tielle, a 13 year old girl growing up in the Amzonian state of Para. She lives in a house which can only be accessed by river, with her mum, her sister, two brothers and her dad. Her older sister ran away to Rio several years ago. The reason for her flight soon becomes obvious: Tielle’s dad is a child abuser who tells his pregnant wife he wants Tielle to sleep in his bed, having cut the cord of her hammock. Tielle is fast forwarded towards adulthood with dramatically predictable results. Manas is well filmed and acted and the script rolls along effectively. Its exotic location is part of the film’s appeal, which given this is a film about child abuse might seem paradoxical. It’s notable to see the names of the Dardennes brothers in the credits, along with Salles. There are clear echoes of the Dardennes’ themes and aesthetic (roving hand-held camera) but despite Jamilli Correa’s compelling performance, there’s a formulaic element to events which undercuts the urgency of the message.
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