Viewers seeking action, tight plotting, or unambiguous happy endings. The film’s conclusion is hopeful but not neat; several threads remain frayed, like real life.
Writer Renata Mendes has an ear for naturalistic dialogue—when she avoids speeches. The best exchanges are mundane: two strangers sharing a bench, discussing the price of mangoes, only to later reveal they are both contemplating suicide. That’s where the film sings.
Unfortunately, Mendes also falls into the “teachable moment” trap. The lawyer’s storyline (involving a hit-and-run he covered up) is resolved with a court confession so tidy and morally instructive that it feels like an after-school special. Similarly, the single mother’s sudden stroke of luck (a long-lost relative leaves her an apartment) arrives with the convenience of a deus ex machina. six vidas 2018 film
Less successful is the subplot involving the DJ, Rafael. His arc—angry young man learns empathy—feels recycled from a dozen indie films before it. Deluti tries his best, but the writing lets him down with dialogue like, “My beats are the only things that understand me.”
Six Vidas will not change cinema. It will not win awards for innovation. But in a year crowded with cynicism, it dares to be sincere. When the final frame fades to black and the six characters—now irrevocably altered by their small, shared moments—smile not with joy but with the quiet acceptance of life’s ongoingness, you may find a lump in your throat. Viewers seeking action, tight plotting, or unambiguous happy
The film’s structure is its boldest gamble. We meet six protagonists whose lives initially appear unrelated: a middle-aged widow (Lúcia, played with aching restraint by Fernanda Rodrigues) who talks to her dead husband’s armchair; a disillusioned young DJ (Rafael, portrayed by Lucas Deluti) whose anger masks a childhood abandonment; a transgender nurse (Eduarda, a scene-stealing turn by Sophia Abrahão) struggling for her father’s acceptance; an elderly bookshop owner (Joaquim, the legendary Antônio Fagundes) facing eviction; a single mother (Carla) working double shifts as a cleaner; and a guilt-ridden lawyer (Marcelo) whose perfect life is a lie.
Gomes and cinematographer Luli Duarte shoot São Paulo not as the postcard city of carnival and beaches, but as a concrete labyrinth of rain-slicked bus stops, flickering fluorescent hallways, and cramped apartments. The color palette is deliberately muted: grays, sepia browns, and the sickly green of hospital waiting rooms. Only when two characters genuinely connect does a splash of warm amber or soft blue enter the frame—a subtle but effective visual cue. The best exchanges are mundane: two strangers sharing
Six Vidas (2018) – A Tender, Imperfect Tapestry of Interconnected Hearts Review by: [Critic Name] Rating: ★★★½ (3.5/5)