On July 7, 2005, suicide bombers attacked London's public transit system, killing fifty-two people. Fear and paranoia engulfed the city in the weeks that followed, as the police and the British government struggled to cope with this unprecedented threat to safety.
Henrique Goldman expertly recreates the tension of that summer in his third feature film, Jean Charles. It's a stirring glimpse into the life and community of Jean Charles de Menezes, a young Brazilian immigrant to London who was misidentified as a terrorist and fatally shot by police.
Jean Charles (Selton Mello) has been living in London for three years when his cousin Vivian (Vanessa Giacomo) moves to the city from their small hometown in Brazil. She is despondent at first but is soon taken in by Jean's infectious optimism. For him, London is a city full of opportunity, where anyone, from any background, can make it. All you need is determination – and some quick thinking.
There is never a shortage of business prospects in Jean's tight-knit Brazilian community, just as there is always someone looking for a visa to stay in the country. As an electrician, Jean bounces from contract to contract, using his connections to help out his friends – and make a little extra cash along the way. He's on his way up, buying a plasma-screen television for his roommates Vivian, Alex (Luis Miranda) and cousin Patricia Armani (played by herself). Despite being burned by a source and almost losing everything, Jean is determined to make it in the city he loves . . . until that fateful morning of July 21.
Goldman quietly captures the struggles and small victories of this vibrant transplanted community. Jean Charles is at once a powerful portrait of tragedy and a celebration of one family's quest to persevere in his memory.
Diana Sanchez
Henrique Goldman was born in São Paulo, Brazil. He worked in New York as a journalist and camera operator before moving to Rome to study drama at the Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico. He now lives in London. He has produced and directed numerous documentaries and award-winning films, such as
Vada (97),
Ixcan (98) and
Princesa (01).
Jean Charles (09) is his most recent film.