Netflix has released its latest film, Sergio. Starring Wagner Moura and Ana de Armas, Sergio tells the story of UN Diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello. A diplomat who was born in Brazil and spent thirty-four years in the UN. Sergio was killed in 2003 in a bombing at the Canal Hotel in Iraq, while on a human rights mission. The film documents Sergio’s final moments, as well as Sergio’s civil union with de Armas’ Carolina.
The Good
As a fan of Moura’s from his days on Netflix’s Narcos, I was excited to see him in another project. Moura looked great as Sergio and his goodwill intentions were displayed properly. Throughout the movie, we could tell that Moura truly cared about humanity – he was never somewhere representing a country. He was representing humanity. Now, sometimes his ambitions were grander than they ought to be and someone could argue that that played a part towards the end. I won’t get into politics and while the movie certainly contains that it more so focused on Sergio’s neverending mission to try to improve the world. “Mr. Fix-It”, as he was referred to as.
de Armas was also really good in this film. Her relationship with Moura’s Sergio was completely tangible. Their love story was a beautiful one. I would say that this film wasn’t so much about Sergio’s UN mission or even his own celebrity. It was about Sergio and Carolina meeting. In the end, you were saddest over their love story ending rather than anything else.
The Bad
I didn’t particularly like the flow of the movie. While it wasn’t terrible, I disliked that the way the film kept skipping around. One minute, we were underneath the rubble in Iraq. Another, in Brazil or Cambodia. And then back again. The movie was disjointed in that way and took you out of the story because of how many times it skipped back and forth. Sergio could have been a really poignant film about human rights and even an uplifting tale, but it didn’t hit the mark. Moura and de Armas did fine job in their roles and perhaps a different studio could have been a better approach for this film, but ultimately, it’s a Netflix film. And it felt like a Netflix film.
Rating: 3/5
If you’re looking for an autobiographical tale or even a historical movie, you’re not really going to get it. But, you are going to get a very nice love story between two human beings who should have had more time on this Earth together. I’d love to see Moura in more things and as we know, de Armas has a very promising career right now. Seeing the two together is just a treat.
A girl with too many fandoms to count.
