The Middle of the World

The Middle of the World takes us on a journey through the eastern side of Brazil. This film is a true story about a rural poor family who treks 3000 km across Brazil on bicycle to find opportunity. The father of the family, Romao, is trying to find a job where he can make 1,000 reals a month. He believes this to be enough to support his five children and wife. Throughout their journey the family desperately tries to find ways to get by. They beg and even sing for money and they also stop in a town where the mother of the family, Rose, makes a few hammocks for some money. Romao is a religious man and believes he will find direction when he visits his patron saint Father Cicero. During his visit to Father Cicero, Romao determines that the family needs to go to Rio de Janeiro to find work. The family then embarks on a long stretch of road which will test the family and it’s relationships with each other.

The major theme in The Middle of the World is rural poverty in Brazil. In the film we are shown that it is extremely hard for Romao to find work. He aspires to be a truck driver but most positions where he lives are already filled. In the film the family starts their trek out in the Northeastern part of Brazil. According to a rural poverty.org, (http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/) the poorest and least developed part of Brazil is the northeast. The areas lack of opportunities force urban migration away from these areas. In Brazil 30% of the population lives on less than $2 a day. We see as the family moves toward Rio de Janeiro their job opportunities slightly increase. Though we never see Romao find a job, we do see his son, Antonio, get a job as a brick layers assistant and the family does a quick job as Indian imposters at a tourist resort.

Throughout this film we get a sense that religion is a big part of Brazilians lives. Early on in the film Romao expresses his need to visit the statue of his Patron Saint Father Cicero. We see in the scene where Romao and family visit the pilgrimage of Father Cicero that crowds of people flock to the statue to be blessed. Father Cicero had great influence on this area as a Roman Catholic priest in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The majority of Brazil belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. Also we notice another example of Catholicism in the final scene where Romao and family arrive at Rio de Janeiro and their first visit is to Corcovado Hill to visit the Cristo Redentor statue. This is a statue of Jesus that sits high hill top that overlooks Rio. Romao is a man who is not a sinner and encourages his family not to sin. We get a good idea in the movie of what the values of a religious family in Brazil might be like.

I was intrigued by this family’s long journey across Brazil. Curiosity sent me to plot the route they took. I wasn’t sure exactly where there starting point was in the movie. You can assume they started near the equator in northeastern Brazil. On my map I have their starting point as the first truck stop they stopped at in the beginning. In the map that is attached to the left you can see that I have listed the cities or towns that are mentioned in the film or noticeable on street signs. Click on map to enlarge.

Middle of the World did a great job at educating the viewer on this region. When the movie covers a large geographic area it helps give the viewer a good perspective of the region as a whole. I also thought it did a great job at portraying the problem with rural poverty in the region. My only downfall with the movie was the lack of substance with the plot. We see the family go through the movie with no extreme ups or downs. This is most likely because they told the story realistically to what really happened. I was really hoping they would show a more of a concluded ending. We really never see if Romao gets his job or not. I wanted them to find success.