Childhood Innocence Betrayed in 'Manas'

Warning: this review contains spoilers for Manas.

“She is your daughter, but not your possession."

Much of our personal trajectory in life is determined by where we were born, in a family of relative status or a geography of political security. In all societies, there are unifying aspects that bring us closer to each other, forming community through shared identity and asserting a corresponding hierarchy of economic and social power. On the other hand, sometimes even the societies that we consider more developed or equal can relay the misfortune of one of its people being born into danger – a dysfunctional family – which leaves us with scars for life. This birth lottery dictates everything.

Marianna Brennand Fortes’ Manas begins its family drama in an unassuming way, portraying moments of peace and tranquillity that give us a glimpse into what protagonist Marcielle's (Jamilli Correa – what a strong debut!) childhood could have been if she'd been born in another place, another family environment. She laughs and plays in the way only a child of full innocence can. We all end up losing our innocence eventually, but the hope is that this realization is gradual. Alas, the abrupt discovery of cruelty by the little Marcielle is anything but.

The director makes respectful choices about what trauma is shown and what is not, as we are otherwise subjected to the direct perspective of Marcielle. We don't need to be slammed with images of gratuitous violence. We don't need to see what exactly happened on the night that should have been just another pleasant bonding experience between father and daughter. 

When the next morning comes, we observe how Marcielle’s body language has shifted, and the world falls at our feet, because we know that her world has changed forever. If the people who should love us, the people who should protect us from all other dangers, are the people who hurt us in the most unforgivable way possible, what faith can we have in everything else that surrounds us?

Yet, Marcielle does not conform. She knows that everything is wrong and shares it with anyone who can do something about it. The response is a traumatising normalisation of the abnormal — a demand to accept "how men are" and the degrading role assigned to her. The film’s slow pace masterfully demonstrates how she is forced to use the only tools she has to survive, only to be ensnared by a system that preys on the poor and vulnerable.

There is also a greater critique of how some remote places are used and abused by other, more cosmopolitan figures for their own pleasure, thus taking advantage of their powerlessness. However, it is when we are inside the little world of Marcielle that the story awakens the strongest feelings in us, motivating us to do our part to shelter the young and change the world, even if our loss of innocence no longer allows us to believe in that possibility.

Director and writer Brennand Fortes puts all this on the screen with gracious consideration for the victims of these societies. She uses silences and glances to great effect, contrasting the brute violence of what is not shown, but intimated, with beautiful shots, like the impressive opener. It forces us to question how such a beautiful place can be the site of such ugliness, a paradox created solely by the people who see it as their playground for wildness. 

Some scenes allow us to exhale and even believe in redemption. However, even when the future seems to bring with it a certain aura of hope, primary wounds are impossible to heal. This is a sick world, and the responsibility of making it a better world belongs to all of us. Let's start by sharing stories like this and by making these voices, which are so often silenced, into cries of revolt that reverberate through others’ comparatively calm and comfortable lives.

As of December 26, 2025, Manas has not yet been released on VOD.

-Pedro