S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Not By Chance’

Brazilian filmmaker Philippe Barcinski’s film ‘Not By Chance’ is a moving depiction of how life can get in the way of life, how things change in a instant and even the most fervent control freaks have no say as to the direction their lives might take. It is a powerful drama that emits a much deeper meaning than the simple love-loss tragedy the film’s synopsis might convey.Much like ‘Crash’ or ‘Babel’, the events that play out in ‘Not By Chance’ stem from an unfortunate accident. The film takes place in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A woman is hit by a van driven by a man and a woman. All three involved are killed in the accident. Two stories branch off from this event.

In the first story, Leonardo Medeires plays Enio, a city traffic controller whose theories on the cause and effect of traffic jams and fluid dynamics puts him at the top of his position. One evening he meets with his ex-wife, where she tells him his daughter, Bia, wants to meet him. Shortly after the meeting, the ex-wife and her current husband are killed in the accident.

In the other story, Rodrigo Santoro plays Pedro, a professional pool player who works out diagrams and equations that allow him to play out every game in his mind before even stepping up to the table. He has just moved into an apartment with his girlfriend. Shortly after, she is the one hit by the van.

The remainder of the film follows these two men’s lives after this event. Enio begins meeting his daughter regularly. Pedro begins to date the woman who moved into his deceased girlfriend’s old apartment. We jump back and forth between these two stories, all the while building towards the ending where the theme of control and how that affects certain outcomes comes into play once again.

‘Not By Chance’ is a film that follows the same crossed-paths structure as films like ‘Babel’ and ‘Amores Perros’, but ‘Not By Chance’ never gets lost in the device. Films such as ‘Babel’ and ‘Crash’ ultimately become too convoluted as we jump from one story to another to another to another all the while trying to piece together how they match up and where they take place on the line of continuity. ‘Not By Chance’ doesn’t play around with the timeline. Everything that happens after the accident plays out in succession, so it’s easy to follow. It’s also easier to follow, since there are only two stories we have to follow. The problems found in ‘Crash’ and ‘Babel’ were that there was always at least one storyline that didn’t seem to fit in with the overall story. Plot-wise, they may have connected somehow, but they just don’t feel fluid when measured up to the other stories. In a nutshell, there is always at lease one story in those films that you just don’t care about.

With ‘Not By Chance’, Barcinski along with the three screenwriters (Barcinski, Fabiana Werneck Barcinski and Eugenio Puppo) never allow this to be an issue. With the two-plot screenplay, we are given an ample amount of time with each of the main characters. There are other characters found in the film that Ià ±Ãƒ ¡rritu or Paul Haggis may have tried to branch out into a third plot-line. The mother of the deceased girlfriend is as controlling as the two men. Enio’s boss at the traffic control board could have had his own storyline. These are held back, and it’s probably the best decision a film like this could have made.

The themes and issues brought up in ‘Not By Chance’ are important, and, despite being subject matters we’ve seen before, they are spelled out and brought to our attention here with a fresh and stirring vision. The way Barcinski capture the idea of cause and effect is amazing. There are times where we follow a character walking through the city, and a ghost image of them follows closely behind insinuating how that character’s path is affected by two, small seconds. It’s an amazing usage of visuals, probably the best way of conveying this idea of cause and effect since ‘Run, Lola, Run’. It’s an aspect of the film probably could have stood to be used a time or two more.

Barcinski films Sao Paulo with a lover’s eye. The city becomes a character all to itself. The scene where Pedro and Lucia, the new girlfriend, are standing on a hill overlooking the city is breathtaking.

A powerful and engaging film, ‘Not By Chance’ is a crossed-paths films that does that plot structure justice. The film never gets bogged down by trying to divulge too much information. Instead, it tells us the story of these two men and allows us to fill in the gaps with any secondary characters. Well-written and well-executed, ‘Not By Chance’ is a commanding drama that earns any accolades it receives. [Overall: 4 stars out of 5]

Festival Screening Dates: Sunday, November 16 @ 8:45pm + Wednesday, November 19 @ 9:30 pm (Frontenac)