Filmmaker Salles focuses on Brazil in new movie

By Steven Zeitchik

CANNES (Hollywood Reporter) - Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles' career has been characterized by implausibilities.

In 1998, his small drama "Central Station" came out of nowhere to become an indie sensation and garner two Oscar nominations.

His 2004 release "The Motorycle Diaries," about a road trip undertaken by a young Ernesto "Che" Guevara, drove off with nearly $17 million in more than four months of U.S. release. And next he's taking on an iconic book, "On the Road," that no U.S. director has succeeded in getting made.

After an all-night subtitling session in Paris for his latest movie, "Linha de Passe," a picture he co-directed with Daniela Thomas about four brothers facing challenges in contemporary Sao Paulo, the 52-year-old spoke with the Hollywood Reporter Thursday.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: FIRST OFF, WE SHOULD SAY

CONGRATULATIONS FOR GETTING THE FILM DONE IN TIME FOR THE

FESTIVAL.

Walter Salles: I hope we did get it done. I hope we put the subtitles all in the right places. Otherwise it's going to become more of an experimental film. That could make for a very interesting review in the Cahiers du Cinema.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: THAT WOULD BE A PROBLEM. OF COURSE,

THIS FILM IS NOT EXPERIMENTAL BUT A SLICE OF LIFE IN MODERN-DAY

BRAZIL.

Salles: This is a project that tries to go back to the roots of Brazilian film. It's about four brothers trying to break social barriers in four very different ways, and all four stories are based on real events. It's a story we wanted to do with real spontaneity, and that's why you'll find 95% of the actors are making their screen debut. It aims for the urgency and freshness of youth trying to find a way out in adverse conditions.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: BUT IT DOESN'T REVEL IN THOSE

CONDITIONS AS MUCH AS OTHER MOVIES HAVE.

Salles: This isn't a film that can be linked to other films you may have seen in Brazilian cinema about drug-dealing, or where there's a conflict between police and kids. If you look at Brazil, the temptation for violence and crime is there because there's a high rate of unemployment. But only a very small percentage will opt for violence and crime -- yet these are the ones who are portrayed. We wanted to make a movie about the kids who save themselves.