Manda Bala

Let’s call this a hybrid of the fictional Brazilian exposé City of God and Errol Morris’s police procedure doc The Thin Blue Line — both tremendous entertainment. Manda Bala (send a bullet) is a bizarre documentary detailing the rise of corruption in Brazilian culture as well as the country’s kidnapping epidemic. “Men will steal with a gun or a pen,” says one talking head. The film boasts garish cinematography, a dynamite score, and perhaps best of all, a fearless director who can get even the worst, most hardened criminals to open up. Stories include money laundering through a frog farm, images of the booming plastic surgery trade (all the ears cut from kidnap victims need replacing), and kidnappers philosophizing about the meaning of life. –Peter Schilling, Jr.

Opens Friday at Landmark Theatres, 612-825-6006.