THE HIDDEN TIGER charts the lives of a group of young residents of Nacional, a neighborhood in the suburbs of the city of Contagem. Juninho, Menor, Neguinho, Adilson, and Eldo live their lives in dialectical fragments of joy and adversity. Some work in construction, others in drug trafficking; a few attend heavy metal concerts, others play with guns; they read, dance carioca funk, and deal with their families as they struggle with the demands of their daily lives. Music is a key element in Uchoa’s rigorously gentle mise-en-scène – in concert with his patient gaze, it helps to illuminate the faces and bodies of Uchoa’s protagonists. The camera captures and crystallizes moments of small beauty in a landscape of social and economic conflict.

New York: March 26 at Anthology Film Archives.