“Luiz Fernando Carvalho has made remarkable works in the movies and TV, with widely recognized aesthetic boldness. The commitment with form is now exercised in the Suburbia series, showcasing Rio’s society in a different light and attainting an exceptional result.”

“Director Luiz Fernando Carvalho is a true sociologist of television drama – after analyzing the caste system during the Empire’s period in The Maias and decoding Ariano Suassuna’s labyrinthine and magical universe in Pedra do Reino, Carvalho revealed the likewise colorful and dark atmosphere of Rio’s North Zone in Suburbia”

“The series is lyrical, and shares the regard of a photographer/poet. There are no light effects, rather the director’s vision, which sees and offers a color that would escape the mere documentary filmmaker. It holds a plenty of messages for the TV itself ”

“The result is beautiful and moving. Like other works by Carvalho, however, it demands special attention from viewers who grew used to very plain dialogs and simple close-ups.”

“Suburbia is not just a good TV show, it also prompts a rather timely discussion about the television itself”

“I venture to say that Madureira play a role of equal to higher relevance than that of characters in the show conceived and directed by Luiz Fernando Carvalho and his peculiar keen eye.”

“Carvalho’s Suburbia, like Sam Mendes’s, portrays moral violence”

Judging by the first episode, the rest of the mini-series might as well be worth it. Not so much for the story, but for the images and fleeting poetry that the production promises to offer.

“Another highlight was Suburbia, by Luiz Fernando Carvalho and Paulo Lins. The series’ brought a fresh feel to television, departing (and exposing) from trivial and repetitive models.”

“Suburbia offers a fresh look at many received truths. (…) It has hit the ground running in its first chapter, with a handful of ethnic, social and cultural issues that are relevant for each and every citizen, but especially for the Brazilian black people when it comes to the possibility of changing some confining stereotypes.”