Linha de Passe stays clear of the stylized violence that Fernando Meirelles employed to introduce the favelas of Sao Paulo to a worldwide audience in his 2002 award-winning feature, City of God. Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas' feature, on the other hand, takes the favela violence for granted and instead focuses on the personal journeys of each of the four brothers, Denis, Dario, Dinho and Reginaldo, rendering the film a coming-of-age story with a realistic documentary approach. The uniqueness of this story is that the personal growth of the brothers are shaped immensely by their environment and their connection with each other, while certain political comments are allowed to bubble to the surface.The brothers have their own obsessions that have allowed them to survive so far, but they each yearn for something more stable, especially in the absence of their father. But Sao Paulo constantly reminds them of the impossibility of change with its 20 million inhabitants who are all dreaming of a better life. In a series of events that allow the brothers to take their best shots, the film is a satisfying and realistic portrait of a family that's questioning life in its many aspects, from justice to faith.
The most powerful aspect of the film is that it doesn't judge or justify any action even though the director slightly nudges the audience towards the expectation that the film itself will speak for justice and change. Neither are easy to achieve in the real world so it's no surprise that the documentary approach of the directors doesn't allow any sweeping reworking of a Hollywood happy ending. This is a film that definitely follows in Salles' auteur footsteps, although it's not as good as the Motorcycle Diaries.
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