| Native Name: | Portuguese: O Mecanismo |
| Alt Name: | The Mechanism |
| Genre: | Political drama |
| Country: | Brazil |
| Language: | Portuguese |
| Num Seasons: | 2 |
| Num Episodes: | 16 |
| List Episodes: |
|
| Company: | Zazen Produções |
Portuguese: O Mecanismo is a Brazilian political drama television series created by José Padilha and Elena Soarez, directed by Padilha, Felipe Prado, and Marcos Prado, and written by Elena Soarez. The show depicts Operation Car Wash (Portuguese: Operação Lava Jato), an ongoing police taskforce that discovered a widespread corruption scheme involving the Brazilian government and several prominent engineering firms.[1] [2] The series premiered all episodes of the first season March 23, 2018, worldwide, on Netflix.[3]
On May 28, 2018, the series was renewed for a second season.[4] The second season premiered on Netflix on May 10, 2019.
Marco Ruffo (Selton Mello) is a Federal Police agent obsessed with the case he is investigating. When he least expects it, he and his apprentice, Verena Cardoni (Carol Abras), are already immersed in one of the largest diversion and money laundering investigations in Brazilian history. The proportion is so great that the course of investigations completely changes the lives of all involved.[5]
In April 2016, Netflix announced that it would produce an original, still untitled series that would follow the investigations of Operation Car Wash.[6] The series was produced by José Padilha, Marcos Prado and the production company Zazen Produções and written by Elena Soarez and Sofia Maldonado. The series was directed by José Padilha, Felipe Prado, Marcos Prado and Daniel Rezende.[7]
The Mechanism started its production in May 2017. Filming locations included the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Brasília.[8]
The first season of the series hold a approval rate of 80% in the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 ratings.
Cassio Starling, in a criticism for Folha de S. Paulo, said that "As was clear from both " Elite Squad ", in addition to the box office success, Padilha seeks to provoke social responses, make the public react to anesthesia and automatic slogans .The enormous attention focused on Lava Jato, on the effects of investigations on the present and the immediate future of the country, could not escape the opportunism of Padilha. Therefore, “The Mechanism” developed little by little, almost insidiously, another plot, which justifies after all, the title. By introducing this fundamental question Padilha reaches a dimension, in fact, more political and less police, more daily and less exceptional. "[9]
Fábio de Souza Gomes, from Omelete, wrote that the program presents tiring fiction, unnecessary parallel plots, but has outstanding performances. He also commented that "although it doesn't seem a little forced, [Selton] Mello improves a lot throughout the series and manages to lead the story well in the shadows while [Caroline] Abras creates a complex and strong detective who seeks to find the corruption behind the country "He added that" The Mechanism could have been much better than it actually was. "[10]
Adolfo Molina, from Observatório do Cinema, summarizes that "The Mechanism is a failure as a representation of historical facts in Brazil for trying to seek exemption from the bias and failing, and a work of fiction also fails to fall into this trap."[11]
Ritter Fan, from Plano Crítico, wrote that "The scripts of the episodes, all written by Elena Soarez, are beyond didactic, with endless repetitions that hit the same monkkey practically every chapter like" fighting cancer does not leave anyone unscathed And things like that. In the field of performances, Selton Mello once again shows that he is one of the best Brazilian actors of his generation, even considering his irritating inability to speak out, his trademark since the beginning that makes understanding what he babble quite complicated. " He praised Enrique Díaz, saying that the performance "immediately resembled that of Robert Knepper as T-Bag, in Prison Break, that is, a rascal and rascal shaped to make us hate him, but at the same time we love him." He concluded by saying that "The Mechanism is a series with potential, but that it is not fully realized."[12]
Despite the recurrent disclaimer at the start of each episode, declaring the screenplay is loosely based on a true story, with characters and events adapted for dramatic effect, many characters and companies depicted (but not all facts regarding them) can be easily traced to the actual people and companies involved in Operation Car Wash. Some such associations are:[13] [14] [15] [16]
| Character/Company | Counterpart | Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Petrobrasil | ||
| Constructor OSA | OAS Group | |
| Constructor Miller&Brecht | ||
| Roberto Ibrahim | Enrique Diaz | |
| Judge Paulo Rigo | Otto Jr. | |
| Former President João "Gino" Higino | Arthur Kohl | |
| President Janete Ruscov | Sura Berditchevsky | |
| Senator Lúcio Lemes | Michel Bercovitch | |
| Vice President Samuel Thames | Tonio Carvalho | |
| Mario Garcez Brito | Pietro Mário | |
| João Pedro Rangel (Pepê) | Paulo Roberto Costa | Leonardo Medeiros |
| Ricardo Brecht | Emílio Orciollo Netto | |
| Lorival Bueno (OSA CEO) | Léo Pinheiro, then OAS Group CEO | Sidney Guedes |
| Attorney General (no name in the show) | Lionel Fischer | |
| Prosecutor Dimas Donatelli | Antonio Saboia | |
| Maria Tereza, Miller&Brecht Personal Assistant | Maria Lúcia Tavares, then Odebrecht Executive Assistant | Anna Cotrim |
| Police Chief Verena Cardoni | Caroline Abras | |
| Agent "China" | Fábio Yoshihara | |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Golden Trailer Awards | Golden Trailer | Best Foreign (TV Spot/Trailer/Teaser for a series) | [17] | |
| 2018 | São Paulo Association of Art Critics Awards | Best Director | José Padilha | [18] | |
| 2019 | Associação Brasileira de Cinematografia | TV - Best Cinematography | Episode: Juízo Final (Doomsday) | [19] | |