| The Man of the Year | |
| Director: | José Henrique Fonseca |
| Producer: | Jose Henrique Fonseca |
| Starring: | Murilo Benício Cláudia Abreu Natália Lage |
| Editing: | Sergio Mekler |
| Cinematography: | Breno Silveira |
| Music: | Dado Villa-Lobos |
| Distributor: | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Runtime: | 113 minutes |
| Language: | Portuguese |
| Country: | Brazil |
The Man of the Year (Portuguese: O Homem do Ano|links=no), is a 2003 Brazilian drama film produced and directed by José Henrique Fonseca. It stars Murilo Benício, Cláudia Abreu, and Natália Lage.[1] [2]
Maiquel (Murilo Benício) is a single, ordinary man living in the Baixada Fluminense region of Rio de Janeiro. After losing a soccer bet to his friends, Maiquel must dye his hair blond. This unusual event in his otherwise mundane life inspires Maiquel to ask his hairdresser, Cledir (Cláudia Abreu) out to a bar where he is confronted and bullied by a local criminal named Suel (Wagner Moura). He decides to settle the matter by subsequently buying a rifle which he uses to shoot and kill Suel the next day. He does so in front of Suel's girlfriend. Instead of reprimanding Maiquel, everyone in the neighborhood, including the police, is overjoyed that he has killed off this local pest and shows their gratitude with gifts. With the news of Maiquel's rise to heroism, influential locals hire him to kill others for him, turning him into a full-on hitman. Maiquel's once dull life becomes one filled with drugs, sex, wealth, and violence as he gradually becomes detached from his wife and becomes less of the "ordinary man" he once was. This path of destruction leads Maiquel to become an outlaw on the run. The film ends with Maiquel dying his hair black and running from the police, realizing just how much his life has changed.