Common Sense Media Review
By JK Sooja
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Language, discrimination in chilling Jair Bolsonaro docu.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Apocalypse in the Tropics
What's the Story?
In APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS, documentarian Petra Costa takes a look at the rise and fall of Brazilian ex-president Jair Bolsonaro; the Billy Graham of Brazil, Silas Malafaia; and how Brazil's fundamentalist Christian population has grown from 5% to 30% in the last 40 years.
Is It Any Good?
This documentary effortlessly shows off an incredible amount of footage of Silas Malafaia and Jair Bolsonaro in their natural environments. One of the amazing things about Apocalypse in the Tropics is how most of it's basically just following around Malafaia and/or Bolsonaro from 2016 to 2023. They talk candidly, joke around proudly, and spout their fundamentalist Christian views fiercely. But this means that even though this film is clearly made by someone from a non-fundamentalist perspective, director Petra Costa must have been quite clever to get such unfiltered, raw, and intimate footage of Malafaia and Bolsonaro. They certainly didn't think she was making a film that wasn't in their best interests. But here they are, in all their privileged and entitled glory: They are in their homes, with their wives and children, on private planes, on talk circuits, in government buildings, on television, speaking at rallies, and so on.
In many ways, though, this is a sad film. Watching so many people who are clearly in need of better lives believe so wholeheartedly in something that is fully taking advantage of them is tragic. Bolsonaro and Malafaia simply told Brazilians to pray during the COVID-19 pandemic, while other nations were getting medicine, the vaccine, care, and treatment—as Brazilian hospitals ran out of oxygen, medication, beds, and more, leading to an unprecedented 300,000-plus death total (at the time), the world's second highest. Even currently, Brazil remains second with over 700,000 deaths. Viewers would do well to heed the warnings of history, lest they allow others to make the same mistakes again and again.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in documentaries. Did any of the violent opinions or views expressed in Apocalypse in the Tropics surprise or shock you?
What parallels might there be between Brazil and other countries? What are the differences?
What strategies can you think of that might help prevent fundamentalism from taking such a strong hold in politics?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : July 14, 2025
- Cast : Petra Costa , Silas Malafaia , Jair Bolsonaro , Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
- Director : Petra Costa
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Latino Movie Director(s) , South American Movie Director(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Documentary
- Topics : Activism , History
- Run time : 110 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some language and nudity
- Award : BAFTA - BAFTA Nominee
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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