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 With "The Mechanism," director Jose Padilha, best known for "Narcos"
and "Elite Squad", hopes to remind viewers that corruption in
his native Brazil is not the fault of any particular politician
or party.
"Brazil, and even the foreign press, has fallen prey to an
ideological battle that doesn't have much to do with the real
world," Padilha said in a phone interview.
"There really is a mechanism that creates the logical structure
of politics here," he said. "The series is trying to take a
position that is non ideological."
"The Mechanism," opens a decade before so-called Operation Car
Wash with federal police in southern Brazil investigating money
laundering in 2003 and failing to catch a key suspect.
They eventually unveil a kickback scheme between politicians,
construction companies and Brazil's state-run oil company -
called Petrobras in real life and Petrobrasil in the series.
While prosecutors and judges have gained global fame for their
assault on impunity, Padilha's series focuses on the
lesser-known police work.
Padilha said one of the main characters, police agent Verena
Cardoni, is modeled on agent Erika Marena, whose work led to the
first arrest of a Petrobras executive. She told Reuters in 2015
that "Car Wash" would be Brazil's biggest-ever money laundering
probe with global consequences, which proved true.
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Brazilians have grown fatigued of the investigation, with its daily
headlines igniting endless political bickering on social media and
elsewhere.
"We can't blame the messenger," Padilha said. "The problem is
Brazilians are reacting in the worst possible way to the truth –
they are splitting in the middle, they are becoming radical from the
right or left," he said.
The investigation is likely to loom large over Brazil's October
presidential election, which could see an unorthodox candidate, like
the right-wing Congressman Jair Bolsonaro, win. Padilha said he was
holding out hope a moderate, honest, non-traditional candidate would
come forward.
"The Mechanism," set for release on Friday, was written by
screenwriter Elena Soarez and based on a book by Vladimir Netto.
Asked how many seasons were planned, Padilha said "My intention is
to finish this when corruption ends, so it's gonna go a pretty long
time if it's up to me."
(Reporting by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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