Written by Tom Augustine.

William Friedkin’s classic The French Connection is, naturally, referenced very early on in Rio Connection, the new Brazilian series screening on Rialto Channel this month. As the story goes, drug smuggling in the United States in the ‘60s and ‘70s was initially funnelled through France, the source material of one of the greatest crime action films ever made. Where years of seedy, yellow-tinged (a bizarre trend in colour grading of foreign, ‘Third World’ countries) examinations of the drug trade presented to Western audiences typically centred around Mexico and Columbia, Rio Connection lures audiences into a far more glamorous and seductive locale, the Rio of the the title. By the time the gentlemen of this series, a group of Euro-trash wiseguys, become involved, the French connection has essentially ground to a halt under the thumb of an exceptionally ruthless Nixon administration, triggering a search for new smuggling locales. Naturally, South America is in the sightlines. Tommasso Buscetta (Valerio Morigi), Lucien Sarti (Aksel Ustun) and Fernand Legros (Raphaël Kahn), three kingpins sensing the walls closing in, see an untouched opportunity in the tropical shores of Rio, to strengthen their handle on the trade from a new locale, transforming the way the mafia ran in the process. 

Screening in its entirety on Rialto Channel, the Brazilian crime series Rio Connection is a refreshing entry into the seedy underworld crime series canon whose door was opened by the likes of Narcos and Breaking Bad. Appealingly fleet and mischievous, the series packs a lot of bang for buck with appealing performances and sophisticated 70s period detail.

Though Friedkin’s film is a notable nod in a series of nods to other, major crime series of years past, most notably De Palma’s Miami-based Scarface and the booming empire that was Netflix’ Narcos series and spinoffs, this change of location offers Rio Connection a chance to do something a little different as well. Befitting the location’s tropical, sunny vibes, there’s a pep in the step of Rio Connection, a appreciably slick and playful tone that aligns it as much with Soderbergh’s Oceans movies as it does with the more self-serious hallmarks of the historical gangster picture. The first two episodes, provided for review, are a whirlwind of characters, manoeuvres and location changes, as the show hurries to establish itself on Rio De Janeiro’s sunny shores. Episode One, particularly, functions somewhat as an extended prologue, anchoring around the pivotal initial meeting of the three mafioso. A positive cavalcade of characters are introduced, to the point where a viewer may be overwhelmed keeping track – that is, unless the breezy sensibility of Rio Connection convinces you to sit back and trust the threads to start pulling together. Certain faces begin to emerge from the marble early – Morigi as the mastermind Tommasso is laconic and unbothered, while Kahn’s Fernand is a highlight as a gaudy and glamorous art dealer-turned-trafficker. Of the wider cast, it is the women who are drawn into the web of these three who are most eye-catching off the bat. Aryè Campos, as an American agent on the trail of the mafioso, is an intriguing, threatening presence, as is Carla Salle as Tommasso’s love interest Maria, a fiery and perceptive local as wary of Tommasso as she is drawn to his flame.

 

One of the chief pleasures of Rio Connection is the way in which both New York City and Rio De Janeiro have been rendered – the period detail of the art direction and the confident, pacy cinematography and editing evoke these contrasting worlds with genuine confidence and expansiveness. There’s an excitement that settles in as the camera glides over the favelas and seaside resorts of Rio, a sense that this is a world teeming with alleys and avenues that one could get lost down. The Brazilian series clearly aims to go toe to toe with the big crime series of the modern era, particularly Narcos, as the sprawling ensemble would seemingly attest. As the breathless pacing of the first episode settles into a more relaxed but purposeful clip in the second episode, and the many internecine dealings and betrayals of the vast empires at play begin to reveal themselves, there’s the sense that Rio Connection has the potential to go anywhere – triumph and tragedy both seem just over the horizon.

Rio Connection premieres exclusively on Rialto Channel from April 9 at 8:30pm. New episodes every Tuesday night throughout April. 

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Rio Connection

Movie title: Rio Connection (Lima, 2023)

Movie description: Screening in its entirety on Rialto Channel, the Brazilian crime series Rio Connection is a refreshing entry into the seedy underworld crime series canon whose door was opened by the likes of Narcos and Breaking Bad. Appealingly fleet and mischievous, the series packs a lot of bang for buck with appealing performances and sophisticated 70s period detail.

Date published: April 4, 2024

Country: Brazil

Author: Mauro Lima

Director(s): Mauro Lima, Thiago Teitelroit, Toni Vanzolini

Actor(s): Valerio Morigi, Aksel Ustun, Raphael Kahn

Genre: Crime, Drama

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