Angels of the Sun

Rudi Lagemann's 2006 Brazilian film tells a story of child trafficking that begins in the country's northeast and reaches the gold fields of the Amazon. Maria, twelve years old, is sold as a housemaid so she can have a better life; then she is resold and put to work in a brothel. The film shows the chain link by link: everyone who buys, transports, protects and looks away. To keep the subject out of melodrama, Lagemann chooses a hard realism and keeps the camera at the child's level; the violence is not shown but is constantly present. The most important thing the film does is describe this not as individual evil but as a functioning economy. On release in Brazil it contributed to the debate over child protection law. Who it's for: viewers interested in Brazilian social cinema and stories about human trafficking. Who it's not for: anyone who will struggle with a film centred on the sexual abuse of children, or expecting a hopeful ending.