Lillah Halla (director)
(studio)
93 (length)
29 November 2024 (released)
3 h
Abortion is starting to creep up the agenda with governments facing powerful lobbies for restrictions or abolition. The main concentration has been on the USA where power has been handed back to the individual states to legislate on. But there are other countries where the issue is very much live too.
Power Alley directed by Lillah Halla, co-written with María Elena Morán is set in Brazil where abortion is banned and the consequences of trying to circumvent the law dire both legally, and socially.
Sofia (Ayomi Domenica Dias) is looking at a prized volleyball scholarship in Chile if she can turn on a final performance for her team in front of the scout. The team’s spirits are high and confident with a great rapport that Halla shows in the early scenes in the locker room.
However Sofia discovers she is pregnant and doesn’t want the baby. In a country that has banned it, abortion is a tricky and dangerous procedure. The law is clear and it’s also divisive social issue.
Nevertheless Sofia tries several options. She goes to a clinic that from the start is set upon manipulating her about the procedure, which spirals to visits from religious fundamentalists, surveillance, and attacks on her home. The volleyball club is dragged into it as sponsors make their views clear.
Her initially angry bee-keeper father João (Rômulo Braga) cools and tries to help his daughter. As Sofia has Uruguayan nationality, through her mother, she could get an abortion in Uruguay, but there are bureaucratic difficulties. Sofia also has support from Bel (Loro Bardot) with whom she is getting closer personally, and the rest of the team.
The abortion issues are up front and in particular regarding the ending not that subtle – note that Levante, the film’s Portuguese title translates as uprising. Having said that these are central and don't disrupt the flow of the film.
Where the film really works, comes to life and generates its power are in the scenes when the team is competing, their downtime and solidarity with Sofia. The banter between the friends and colleagues is wonderful accompanied by a perfectly pitched electro soundtrack.
Power Alley will be in UK cinemas on 29 November 2024
