MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE

By Tatiana Toruno

High Expectations is a romantic comedy directed and written by Alvaro Campos and Pedro Antonio. The movie was inspired by and stars Leonardo Reis, also known as Gigantic Leo who is a famous comedian in Brazil. High expectations is his first film as a lead actor and he does an outstanding job in his debut. Both of the actors Maria Eduarda Carvalho who is Lia, and Leonardo Reis who plays Decio share great chemistry on screen.

The story is about a jockey-trainer and Dwarf named Decio who tries to conquer the heart of Lia, a melancholic woman that barely smiles. “High Expectations” gives us a different perspective of how someone like Decio would see the world and teaches us that love has no size.

Both Eduarda and Reis are funny and natural and the theater was lively with laughter. The movie provided a combination of laughs, nostalgia, empathy, and it awakened compassion.

The Cinematography and lighting of the film were flawless. The combination of colors made the film feel vibrant and refreshing. The direction is filled with small details that establish character personality but leave room for the audience to imagine. There were scenes were dialogue was sparse and the director told us everything visually and I really like that.

One of the most impressive things about the film was it’s merging of a recorded standup comedy show from Leonardo Reis in real life into different sections of the film. This technique gave the film a more realistic feel that was unexpected but worked perfectly.

I had the opportunity to see and listen to Alvaro Campos, the director, during the Q&A. I was honored to be there. He explained how he cautiously chose the actors and how he felt that he couldn’t find anyone else better to star in the film other than the man whom the story was based on.