Carandiru

A tremendously long, though powerful, film about Brazil’s Sao Paolo House of Detention. The overcrowded prison eventually erupted in the "Pavillion 9" riot which lead to the deaths of 111 inmates. The story centers on Dr. Drauzio Varella, who arrives to implement an AIDS program, but director Hector Babenco feels the need to cover a lot of other ground, resulting in a sprawling and somewhat unwieldy film, but one that packs a tremendous gut-punch.