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Time Magazine
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Netflix's Sobering Apocalypse in the Tropics Depicts the Rise of Evangelical Christianity in Brazilian Politics
In the opening shot of Apocalypse in the Tropics, the camera pans across a cracked canvas on which a group of nude figures, all with blurred expressions, seek shelter inside the protective cocoon of a cracked white egg. This detail is part of the enigmatic triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, a painting that serves as a moral warning about the destructive power of unchecked desires. It's a fitting introduction to a documentary that examines the rise of Christian Nationalism in Brazil, which hits Netflix today after premiering at last year's Venice Film Festival. Directed, co-written, and narrated by Petra Costa, whose 2019 film The Edge of Democracy was nominated for an Academy Award, this eye-opening documentary is divided into chapters, each one recounting a seismic sociopolitical moment that gripped the nation. The cinematography blends the historical with the mythic and personal, combining archival footage and interviews with spiritual leaders and political officials. Among the most prominent are televangelist Silas Malafaia and Brazil's current and former presidents, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (known as Lula) and Jair Bolsonaro. 'Making this film was an epic journey. We filmed for four years, almost uninterruptedly, during one of the darkest and most difficult times in Brazil's history,' Costa tells TIME. Her team sifted through thousands of hours of archival footage, filed many freedom of information requests in Brazil and the U.S., gained access to a powerful televangelist and two presidents engaged in power struggles, and navigated COVID-19 wards, mass graves, and the homes of the poor. 'Our desire was to capture the pulse of Brazilian society from the streets to the congress, up to the presidential palace. In doing so, what came into focus through the material was the extraordinary grip religious leaders were holding on political power, and the threat religious fundamentalism is posing to the separation of church and state,' says Costa. Laying the groundwork for Christian nationalism Following the period of colonial rule and tradition, during the fourth Brazilian Republic, President Juscelino Kubitschek envisioned a new future for Brazil centered on democracy, not grounded in faith in God but in progress and equality. He encouraged a nationalistic spirit and the belief that the country would become a great world power. Kubitschek constructed the new federal capital, Brasilia, designed by Oscar Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa, and inaugurated it in April 1960. Brazilians considered the capital city, which replaced Rio de Janeiro, a symbol of the nation's future significance on the world stage. This vision did not fully come to fruition. In recent years, Brazil has become increasingly fragmented, amplified by a widespread subscription to hateful doctrines, culture wars, anti-intellectualism, disinformation on social media, apocalyptic messaging, doomsday conspiracy theories, and ethno-religious identity politics. Apocalypse in the Tropics depicts the Christian nationalists and fundamentalists who have risen to power in Brazil as beholden to a belief in divine retribution. Political and religious leaders such as Malafaia and Magno Malta embrace a vengeful Jesus willing to strike down non-believers and perceived enemies of God. Some of this stems from what the documentary positions as a misinterpretation of the often-cited and controversial Book of Revelation. Their goal is to establish a Christian nation and defend cultural conservatism. Costa's filmmaking firmly establishes the view that this group will pursue these objectives even at the cost of 'loving thy neighbor' and the interests of society at large. For centuries, Catholicism brought by Portuguese colonizers—serving as both a spiritual framework and a political tool—laid the groundwork for Christian nationalism to grow. 'While it provided rituals and beliefs that shaped Brazil's cultural identity, it was also used to legitimize the violent subjugation of Indigenous peoples and the enslavement of millions of Africans forcibly brought to the country,' Costa says. In the past 40 years, evangelism has surged from 5 percent to over 30 percent of Brazil's population. Though it once wielded great influence over people's lives, the Holy See's power has waned in recent times. Still, with the rise of populist and ultra-conservative politicians utilizing nationalistic rhetoric, theocracy is becoming a greater concern for secular societies. Costa sees the message of Apocalypse in the Tropics as having resonance far beyond Brazil. 'From Hungary to India, Italy to the United States, a whole generation of far-right leaders has emerged with strong ties to fundamentalist theologies. And as their movements grow, so does the power of the individual religious leaders at their forefront,' she says. During the 1960s, a vastly different movement emerged within Brazil's Catholic Church: Liberation Theology, rooted in values of social justice and defending the poor. During the Cold War, this was viewed as a threat to U.S. interests, and followers were branded as communists. In archival footage shown in the documentary, Henry Kissinger warns President Nixon that the Catholic Church is no longer an ally in Latin America. The administration worked with a lobbying group called 'The Family' to convert people there to evangelical Christianity. 'Our film uncovered previously unreported material revealing how American evangelical missionaries were sent to Brazil to counteract the influence of Liberation Theology. Since then, Brazil has developed its own version of evangelicalism,' Costa explains. The country's poor found a home in this Christian movement that preaches the prosperity gospel, believing that church sermons and donations will lead to wealth on Earth. As shown in Apocalypse in the Tropics, evangelical churches in Brazil are plentiful and accessible, often operating out of people's homes, as compared to Catholic churches. The loud, brazen demeanor adopted by many pastors inspires mass trances and a sense of divine supremacy. Wealth is a draw for the rich and poor alike, a capitalist paradise rooted in fervent belief and devotion. Religion, government, and power The ambitious Pentecostal pastor and televangelist Malafaia—considered a kingmaker, is among those religious leaders in Brazil who have amassed wealth and celebrity through their sermons. Over the years, he has expanded his influence into politics, building close ties with politicians and endorsing presidential candidates, including the ultra-right-wing Bolsonaro, whom he claims was chosen and anointed by God to lead. Malafaia's support helped him win the presidency in 2019. He went on to support Lula in 2022, though the relationship disintegrated due to vastly differing values. In the documentary, Costa interviews Malafaia, who sometimes veers off into angry rants, especially concerning the country's leftists. He talks about the power evangelical leaders hold in politics and how they can make or break political candidates.. One major reason the incumbent Bolsonaro lost the 2022 election was his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, widely agreed to be a failure stemming from indifference. He ignored scientific consensus and strategies to fight the pandemic in favor of herd immunity, fasting, promises, and prayers, while also spreading conspiracy theories. When asked about Brazil's high death toll (becoming the second-worst-affected country in the world), in the documentary Bolsonaro chillingly responds, 'So what? What am I to do? I'm Messiah but I don't do miracles. Why make people panic when everyone will die?' Since Bolsonaro is currently ineligible to run for president again until 2030, Christian nationalist leaders, who are closely aligned with the far-right, are seeking a successor in the 2026 general election. 'These leaders have not disappeared, and their caucus is one of the most powerful in Congress,' says Costa. 'To make matters worse, this is also happening at a time when the legislature has essentially robbed the executive branch of much of its power.' In Apocalypse in the Tropics, Congressman and President of the Evangelical Caucus Sóstenes Cavalcante says that the group has grown from 50 members in 2002 to 142 in the Senate. President Lula is dealing with a conservative legislative branch that challenges his leadership and an inability to pass significant reforms, such as increasing taxes on Brazil's wealthiest. 'Taxing Brazil's ultra-wealthy would affect only 50 families and generate an estimated $260 billion USD,' says Costa. A portrait of more than just Brazil Costa suggests that one way to understand the chaos of our current era is as 'the hangover from an information revolution.' Just as the printing press sparked upheaval in its time, social media is now causing widespread fallout. Today's algorithms are not 'designed to foster democratic debate, collective decision-making, or the careful building of consensus,' but are crafted for virality, outrage, conflict, and emotional extremes—amplifying divisive messages. 'This makes these spaces particularly fertile ground for religious fundamentalism and other forms of extremism,' Costa explains. In a scene from a 2018 election rally, Bolsonaro addresses the enraptured crowd, saying, 'If I get there [as president], if it's up to me, every citizen will have a gun at home, there won't be an inch of land for indigenous people and no slavery reparations,' while pretending to shoot at Workers' Party voters from the Brazilian state of Acre with a machine gun. During his presidency, Bolsonaro and his cabinet members repeatedly hinted at challenging the rule of law against opponents like Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has investigated him several times for illegal disinformation. Another scene where tanks drive through the streets—echoing Brazil's past military coups—Bolsonaro uses the military for protection, supported by his followers whom he encouraged to launch insurrections against perceived injustice. This unrest reached a climax after his defeat in the 2022 general election, when Bolsonaristas stormed the Three Powers Square on Jan. 8, 2023, just days after Lula's inauguration. The ex-president denied his election loss in October, seeking shelter in Florida while stirring discontent among his radicalized supporters. This chilling event, mirroring the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, closes the documentary's final chapter. Trump is now threatening to impose 50 percent tariffs on Brazil if the Supreme Court doesn't drop charges against Bolsonaro for the attempted coup. While making Apocalypse in the Tropics, it became increasingly clear to Costa that she was not making a film only about Brazil. 'This portrait is not just a reflection of siloed far-right movements. What we are seeing is how fundamentalist movements in different countries are sharing ideas and practices, forming alliances and acquiring immense global impact,' she says. We are living in divided times, searching for answers amongst the chaos. Amid uncertainty and confusion, people turn to leaders who promise to guide them out of darkness. 'Faced with a population that feels it has lost control of its destiny, whether due to economic globalization, distance from the exercise of power or the force of emerging technologies, the answer offered by the mysticism of the divine is welcomed with fervor and relief at a time of profound earthly uncertainty,' Costa says.
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Apocalypse in the Tropics OTT release: When and where to watch the Netflix documentary on evangelism's impact in Brazil
Apocalypse in the Tropics OTT release: Apocalypse in the Tropics is a new Netflix documentary exploring the growing sway of evangelical groups over Brazil's political landscape. The film takes a closer look at how religious movements have helped shape policy and daily life in the country. Set to stream soon on Netflix, it offers viewers a timely perspective on the intersection of faith and power. Apocalypse in the Tropics OTT release Apocalypse in the Tropics will be released on 12th July on Netflix. What is Apocalypse in the Tropics about? Through conversations with politicians, faith leaders, and everyday Brazilians, the documentary explores how Evangelical power quickly gained ground in Brazil's political sphere, ultimately leading to the 2018 election of former president Jair Bolsonaro. It focuses in particular on the political clout of Pentecostal pastor and televangelist Silas Malafaia, showing how these forces have put pressure on Brazil's democratic institutions. Blending historical background with firsthand accounts, the film illustrates how Brazil's shift toward religious influence mirrors broader global trends of democracy under strain. Meet the crew Costa collaborated on the screenplay with David Barker, Alessandra Orofino, Nels Bangerter, and Tina Baz. The documentary is produced by Orofino for Peri Productions and Costa for Busca Vida Filmes, alongside partners including Impact Partners, Play/Action Pictures, Luminate, and Plan B/KM Films. Executive producers include Jenny Raskin, Jim and Susan Swartz, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Katrina vanden Heuvel, and Meadow Fund representing Impact Partners; Jeffrey Lurie and Marie Therese Guirgis for Play/Action Pictures; Felipe Estefan and Rafael Georges Zein for Luminate; as well as Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner for Plan B Films. Additional executive producers are Katy Drake Bettner, Kate Hurwitz, InMaat Foundation, Frida Polli, James Costa, and Trevor Burgess.
National Observer
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- National Observer
MOVIES: a revamped, bright and shiny Superman and two powerful documentaries
When a huge in-demand film like Superman arrives, the other big new summer films stand aside and wait. There's no need for The Smurfs or I Know What You Did Last Summer to try and compete just yet. They'll be here next Friday and there are only three new movies to read about here today. Take special note of the two documentaries though. They're definitely worth your time. But first the big one … Superman: 3 ½ stars Apocalypse in the Tropics: 4 Ghosts of the Sea: 4 SUPERMAN: The long-time superhero gets a sparkling update—both personally and of the world he lives in. And just in time too. Politics, international relations and a conniving tech mogul seem inspired by (heck, drawn right out of) the news we follow these days. An Eastern European country invades another. Superman is criticized for flying into another country's airspace without authorization. He was just trying to help and, in fact, he loses his first ever battle when he does. Crowds turn against him when some old information is dredged up and he, almost human this time, has deep doubts about what he is and whether he's been living a lie. It's a complex story, with many echoes of the comic books for the fans and emotionally relatable theater for the rest of us. David Corenswet, his first time in the role, is amiable and charming. The film highlights that, not the man-of-steel stuff. He's up against Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, his long-time enemy, and is allied with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, his reporter colleague at The Daily Planet. She knows his secret identity, another update in this film. The innovations are thanks to writer/director James Gunn, who DC lured over from their rival, Marvel Studios, in a splashy attempt to compete. It works, mostly. It's bright, colorful, fast-moving and engaging. Luthor finds video from Superman's parents that threaten his good-guy image and causes his self-doubt. He has him arrested and tossed into a high-tech, privately-operated prison which is part of something called the 'pocket universe.' There, for a time, the film gets too muddled with too much going on, but it recovers. Three other DC characters, Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi); Hawkgirl (Isabel Merced) and Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) help out with, among other things, humour. And there's Krypto, Superman's dog. A nice touch that helps keep the film entertaining and not too serious. It's poised to be a huge hit. (In theaters) 3 ½ out of 5 APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS: How timely is this? Donald Trump has just threatened Brazil with tariffs unless they stop prosecuting their former president, Jair Bolsonaro. Not only is that another of his intrusions into the affairs of another country, but it's misguided. This film, just arrived, tells the whole story of how Bolsonaro got to be president and what he did to provoke the prosecution. Petra Costa, who told a related story in her previous film, Edge of Democracy, which was nominated for an Academy Award, looks at the case from a unique angle: the power of the Evangelical Christian movement. Now comprising 30% of the population, this movement — propelled by firebrand pastors — played a pivotal role in putting him into power. Costa says he was unqualified, even inept, and his most-supporting pastor, the TV evangelist Silas Malafaia, rants out the details of his vision: no land returned to the Indigenous, no reparations for slavery, no abortion, gay marriage or legalized drugs. They're attacked as Marxist policies. Why can people promote them and I can't talk about Jesus? Spouts one pastor. Christians should control all aspects of society, says another. Bolsonaro likes to call himself Messiah, a version of his middle name, but during COVID, when Brazil had the second-largest outbreak on earth, he said he couldn't do miracles. He lost the next election, refused to concede, was alleged to be planning a coup and was arrested after mobs swarmed into public buildings. That's the case Trump is on about. He calls it a witch hunt, much like he endured. The film is compelling, too thin in its conclusions but features personal interviews with many of the principal figures and leaves me with this question: did Bolsonaro learn from Trump or was it the other way round? (In theaters for 2 or 3 days: Vancouver today, Toronto tomorrow. Starts on Netflix, Monday) 4 out of 5 GHOSTS OF THE SEA: Sometimes a documentary is just as riveting as a written adventure. This one is for sure, as it explores a sea-going mystery and has you savouring every clue and added bit of information you encounter. And speculate on what was in the mind of a Norwegian sailor named Peter Tangvald. He was an ocean adventurer for whom traveling in his boat on the high seas represented freedom. 'He didn't want anyone telling him what to do,' it's said. Also: 'He had to be free at any cost.' The cost was high. He died in a shipwreck and, later, when his son was also lost at sea, his daughter, Virginia Tangvald, set out to find what happened to him, to the son and the philosophy he lived by. 'The ghost of my father still haunts me,' she says. She was only five when he died and 23 years later and, by then living in Canada, tries to understand him by interviewing people who knew him, friends and some family members. There's lots of drama there. He built his 'dreamboat' himself, sailed the Atlantic solo, lost his wife in a pirate attack and a second wife to drowning. He was a risk-taker and refused to have a motor, radio or phone on board. He explains why and what drove him on some audio tape he had recorded and in a log book from which we hear excerpts in his own voice via a speech synthesizer. He was living his dream and said whoever is not willing to take chances 'is not as wise as he thinks.' He was following his destiny and couldn't escape it. 'I'm floating between life and death,' he says at one point. And 'on the verge of a nervous breakdown,' at another. One of the people interviewed said he became reclusive and 'turned into a desperate old madman,' a phenomenon that, according to another, often happens to men at sea. The revelations are very affecting in this Canada/France co-production from The National Film Board. (Watch for it at festivals, or in theaters like Vancouver's VIFF Center now and Toronto soon) 4 out of 5
Boston Globe
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
New documentary ‘Apocalypse in the Tropics' tries to understand the era of Jair Bolsonaro
Costa doesn't use the word 'Apocalypse' figuratively, as if to say things are really bad in Brazil (though she clearly thinks they are). The apocalypse of the title is instead a reference to the event foretold in the Book of Revelation, the only apocalyptic book in the New Testament canon — an event a growing breed of Brazilian fundamentalist politicos and pastors eagerly await. Advertisement An image from "Apocalypse in the Tropics." Courtesy of Netflix Advertisement The impatient anticipation has created common ground for fearmongers and powermongers, from megachurches to halls of Congress. None of that liberation theology, with its focus on compassion and liberation of the oppressed, for this bunch. Just bring on the fire and brimstone already. In Brazil, right-wing brawn and dominion theology — which seeks to institute a nation governed by Christians based on their interpretation of biblical law — have hitched to each other's wagons; both parties have proven eager to join up and break stuff in the name of Jesus. This state of affairs alarms Costa, but she responds with qualities that seem to be in short supply these days: vision and restraint. Her camera slowly glides over paintings by Bosch and Bruegel, who rendered elaborate (and still terrifying) apocalyptic visions on their canvases. Sitting down throughout the film with the fundamentalist TV preacher Silas Malafaia, who threw his considerable influence and dominion preaching behind Bolsonaro during his victorious 2019 presidential campaign, she asks polite questions in a steady voice. Malafaia responds with frightening frankness; you get the feeling he believes he's talking to an ally as he speaks of the good ol' end times. Other Bolsonaro supporters, filmed at rallies and meetings, are just as vitriolic in their scorn for the secular state. There are times when you might want 'Apocalypse in the Tropics' to dig deeper into the cold hard facts and brutality of Bolsonaro's electioneering and, er, dominion. But this isn't really that kind of documentary. Costa conjures an eerie, in-the-moment feel, lingering on images until they sear into the subconscious. The aftermath of the 2023 post-election riots, in which pro-Bolsonaro forces stormed the Supreme Court, Congress, and presidential office, is captured with lyrically ominous shots of broken glass, trashed buildings, and other remnants of destruction. In other moments, extreme overhead shots provide a sort of God's eye perspective that mirrors those often used by Bruegel. Advertisement Costa provides just enough historical context to the rising theocratic fervor. As the film explains, there was a time when the country did embrace a charitable form of Catholicism, along the lines of liberation theology. But during the Cold War, this was seen as too close to Communism by the U.S., which supported a 1964 military coup. Billy Graham helped spread Evangelical ardor when he brought one of his 'crusades' to Rio de Janeiro in 1974. Brazil was ripe for a rightward Great Awakening. As Costa says in her narration, 'Brazil became a laboratory for a brutal form of capitalism and vertiginous social inequality, where millions of people began to seek the help they needed in the Evangelical faith.' She also readily admits that she was caught off-guard by what she was witnessing when she began filming in 2016: 'My secular upbringing wasn't helping me decipher the signals around me. I knew what the Russian Revolution was, and the formula for oxygen, but nothing about the Apostle Paul, John of Patmos, or the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.' She adds that 'It was as if we shared the same land, but spoke completely different languages' – a sentiment that many Americans surely share. APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS Directed by Petra Costa. On Netflix starting Monday. 110 minutes. PG-13 (profanity, violence). Advertisement
San Francisco Chronicle
09-07-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘Apocalypse in the Tropics' is the democracy documentary Trump doesn't want you to see
Brazil's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, is facing trial for his role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2022 election that removed him from power. On Monday, July 7, United States President Donald Trump, who disputed the results of the 2020 election that temporarily removed him from power, came to his defense. 'Brazil is doing a terrible thing on their treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE. … LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!' So yeah, Petra Costa's documentary ' Apocalypse in the Tropics ' — which not only details Bolsonaro's rise and fall but how democracies can be subverted and dismantled — is pretty timely. It also provides a blueprint for reclaiming and strengthening democratic systems, which might be the main value for Americans viewers of the film, which opens Friday, July 11, at Landmark's Opera Plaza Cinema in San Francisco and streams on Netflix beginning Monday, July 14. Costa, who explored the threat to democracy in Brazil in her 2019 documentary 'The Edge of Democracy,' also on Netflix, doesn't shy away from drawing parallels between Bolsonaroism and Trumpism. Bolsonaro moved hard to the right and was embraced by Brazil's Evangelical Christian movement on his way to ascending to the presidency in 2018. When he got to power, he set about remaking the government by weakening its institutions, including Brazil's Supreme Court. Costa also accuses the president of bungling the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a contentious re-election campaign in 2022 in which he squared off against rival and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. But Costa also delves into the history of democratic and socialist movements in Latin and South America that hoped to narrow socio-economic gaps. Key players include former U.S. President Richard Nixon and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, as well as none other than Evangelical Christian leader Billy Graham, who spoke at a massive rally in Brazil in 1974 while the country was under a military dictatorship. 'What is certain is that Brazil became a laboratory for a brutal form of capitalism and vertiginous social inequality where millions of people began to seek the hope they needed in the Evangelical faith,' Costa narrates in the film. In the last four decades, Costa reports, the percentage of Brazilians who identify as Evangelical Christian has risen from 5% to 30%, significantly boosting Bolsonaro's political appeal. In his 2022 campaign against Bolsonaro, da Silva embraced Evangelical social issues, noting in one campaign speech that abortion and all-gender restrooms 'came straight out of Satan's mind.' At the heart of 'Apocalypse in the Tropics,' though, isn't so much current events but a longing to return to old ideals. A consistent thread is the conception of Brazil's capital of Brasilia as a utopian seat of government, architecturally embracing the three branches of government — executive, legislative and judicial — as separate but equal checks and balances. There's a lot of old footage from the 1950s of Brasilia being designed and built, which reveal this detail: Original plans had a church at the center of the design, as nearly all Brazilian cities and towns have. But it was removed to establish the idea of a separation of church and state.
