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Apocalypse in the Tropics

Apocalypse in the Tropics
Film poster
PortugueseApocalipse nos Trópicos
Directed byPetra Costa[1]
Written by
  • Petra Costa
  • Alessandra Orofino
  • David Barker
  • Nels Bangerter
  • Tina Baz
  • Moara Passoni
Produced by
  • Petra Costa
  • Alessandra Orofino
Starring
Narrated byPetra Costa
Cinematography
  • João Atala
  • Murilo Salazar
  • Pedro Urano
Edited by
  • Bruno Lasevicius
  • Cao Guimarães
  • David Barker[2]
  • Eduardo Gripa
  • Jordana Berg
  • Nels Bangerter
  • Tina Baz
  • Victor Miaciro
Music byRodrigo Leão
Production
companies
Distributed byNetflix
Release dates
  • 29 August 2024 (2024-08-29) (Venice)[4]
  • 11 July 2025 (2025-07-11) (United States)
  • 14 July 2025 (2025-07-14) (Netflix)
Running time
109 minutes[5]
Countries
  • Brazil
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
Languages
  • Portuguese
  • English

Apocalypse in the Tropics (Portuguese: Apocalipse nos Trópicos) is a 2024 documentary film directed by Petra Costa about the influence of evangelical Christianity on far-right politics in Brazil.[1]

The film premiered out of competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, on 29 August 2024.[6] It was given a limited release in the United States on 11 July 2025, prior to its global release on Netflix on 14 July 2025.

Synopsis

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The documentary follows the growing influence of the evangelical movement in Brazilian politics, specially during Jair Bolsonaro's tenure as President of Brazil. Costa gains unprecedented access to Bolsonaro's close associate: far-right televangelist Silas Malafaia. Malafaia's undeniable growing influence on Bolsonarism, since the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, is also a keen part of the 2022 presidential elections results (which Bolsonaro was narrowly defeated) and the attempted coup d'état in the following months.

At the same time, Costa examines Bolsonaro's left-wing successor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (elected for an unprecedented third non-consecutive term) attempts to unify the religious discourse in a democratic instance.[7]

Release

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Apocalypse in the Tropics debuted out of competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on 29 August 2024.[4] It will also screen at the 51st Telluride Film Festival on 31 August 2024,[8][9] in the Perlak section of the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival,[10] and in the Spotlight section of the 2024 New York Film Festival.[6]

In December 2024, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film.[11] It was limitedly released on 11 July 2025, prior to streaming on Netflix on 14 July 2025.[12][13]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 89% of 37 critics' reviews are positive.[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[15]

Monica Castillo of RogerEbert.com gave the film three and a half out of four stars and wrote that it "looks and feels like a nightmare from the chilling visions from the Book of Revelations to news footage of crowds storming their seats of government, the breathtaking loss Brazil suffered during COVID, and the First Lady's frenetic display of praying in tongues."[16]

Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "What makes Tropics so riveting is the way Costa constantly shifts between the epic and the intimate, the macro and the micro. She uses drones to film massive crowds of protestors like extras in a big-budget historical drama, then goes handheld to follow Bolsonaro, as well as re-elected leftist president Lula da Silva, as they contend with the religious players forcing them to embrace Christianity in public."[17]

Valdinei Ferreira of Christianity Today gave a mixed review, writing that Costa's outsider perspective allowed her to approach the Brazilian evangelical movement "with curiosity rather than cynicism." However, he expressed concerns that her focus on prominent media and political figures such as Silas Malafaia led her to "risk portraying evangelicalism as monolithic, missing its theological diversity and the quieter, more grounded expressions of faith lived out in communities across Brazil." Ferreira expressed disagreement with Costa's reliance on Dominion theology as a framework for explaining the growing evangelical presence in Brazilian politics.[18]

Silas Malafaia disliked the film. Invited to a special preview screening at a movie theater in Rio de Janeiro, the pastor left the venue, shouting against what he had seen.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Apocalypse in the Tropics". Impact Partners Film. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  2. ^ "David Barker Films". David Barker Films. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  3. ^ Sales Ross, Rafa (August 29, 2024). "Oscar-Nominated Petra Costa, Director of Venice's 'Apocalypse in the Tropics,' on How Brazil Serves as a 'Parable' for the U.S." Variety. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Apocalypse in the Tropics". La Biennale de Venezia. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Apocalypse in the Tropics (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 21 April 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  6. ^ a b "62nd New York Film Festival Spotlight Announced". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  7. ^ Pearce, Leonard. "62nd New York Film Festival Adds Films from Jean-Luc Godard, Alex Ross Perry, Leos Carax, Guy Maddin, Pablo Larraín & More". The Film Stage. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Telluride Program Guide" (PDF). Telluride Film Festival. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  9. ^ Davis, Clayton (August 29, 2024). "Telluride Festival Lineup Includes 'Nickel Boys,' 'The Piano Lesson' and 'Saturday Night' With Tributes for Jacques Audiard and Saoirse Ronan". Variety. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  10. ^ "Johnny Depp, Monica Bellucci, Pamela Anderson e Isabelle Huppert son las estrellas confirmadas para San Sebastián". Infobae. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  11. ^ Carey, Matthew (December 5, 2024). "Netflix To Release Petra Costa's Oscar-Contending Documentary 'Apocalypse In The Tropics'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  12. ^ "Apocalypse in the Tropics". Lammele Theaters. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  13. ^ Feinberg, Scott (9 May 2025). "Netflix's Christian Nationalism Doc 'Apocalypse in the Tropics' Set for Summer Release, Fall Awards Push (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  14. ^ "Apocalypse in the Tropics". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  15. ^ "Apocalypse in the Tropics". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  16. ^ Castillo, Monica (14 July 2025). "Apocalypse in the Tropics". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  17. ^ Mintzer, Jordan (29 August 2024). "'Apocalypse in the Tropics' Review: A Riveting Account of How Evangelism Became a Major Threat to Brazilian Democracy". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  18. ^ Ferreira, Valdinei (July 17, 2025). "'Apocalypse in the Tropics' Oversimplifies Brazilian Evangelicals' Political Desires". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on July 22, 2025. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  19. ^ "Documentário expõe Malafaia como pastor de palanque e mau profeta" (in Brazilian Portuguese). O Globo. 2025-07-06. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
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