The Surgeon of the Rusty Knife

Gustavo Fernandez's 2022 Brazilian film is about Jose Pedro de Freitas, who lived in Minas Gerais in the fifties. Known as Ze Arigo, he said a spiritual entity performed surgery through him, and thousands came to him. The film does not set out to verify or refute this; it describes Arigo's own belief and the reactions of those around him. The church condemned him, medical bodies initiated legal action and he was imprisoned several times. That legal process is a significant part of the account. Danton Mello plays Arigo. The film was produced in a context where a strong spiritualist tradition exists in Brazil and draws an openly sympathetic portrait; the medical criticism is passed over quickly. Who it's for: those interested in religious practice in Brazil and drama adapted from real events. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a sceptical view of the subject; the film largely relays the claims as given and contains surgical scenes.