01x05 - Neverending

[bunniefuu]

FOUR YEARS AND FIVE MONTHS AFTER THE FIRE

[judge] We shall proceed

with the judgment of exception of truth

of defendants

Pedro Leal and Ricardo Martins.

Our first associate?

To continue,
after my request for a review.

With all due respect to my colleague,
the judge rapporteur,

I vote in opposition
and in favor of Pedro and Ricardo.

Yes! That's one vote.

The next Associate Judge's vote?

Nothing further.

I'll follow my colleagues
and vote in favor of the defendants.

-Next colleague.
-I will also follow Your Excellency.

And vote in favor of the defendants.

Three!

Well then.

My esteemed colleagues have voted.

The final score, 20 to three.

That is, unless some of my colleagues
here decide to change their votes.

As a rapporteur,

I don't believe
that they have proven their case,

and the burden of proof
that they are speaking the truth

is in their hands.

And I reiterate my original vote.

Associate Judges, ladies and gentlemen,

does anyone wish to change their vote?

[tense music playing]

Adjourned.

THE ENDLESS NIGHT

[unsettling music playing]

[Pedro] Hey. Here it is.

Hey, man. Thanks.

[reporter] A scandal shocks Brazil.

One of the prosecutors

who is suing the parents
of the victims of Club Kiss

was recorded by one of the sued parents.

[Celso] Look, I feel the same
way that you do about this.

And Thales…

I can't say about Dedé,

but Thales is a guy who's been around
and on the social scene

for a while. He has influence.

He has a lot of contacts
inside of city hall,

and he's arranged some kind of deal,
I have no doubt.

But how am I supposed to prove that?

And wouldn't it be up to the prosecutor

to request an investigation
of city hall's officials?

We asked the prosecutor
to justify the recording that we heard.

We were having a meeting with the parents,
and after it was finished,

when the formalities had been concluded,
I talked to Mr. Pedro.

It was informal,
and I didn't take any precautions. It was…

I would never have thought
he was recording us.

-I love you, Pedro, but you're crazy.
-[Pedro chuckles]

It'll rock the prosecution.

I'm already being sued. It's like farting
in sh*t-stained underwear.

-Please!
-[Silvana laughs]

It's the truth, sweetie.

The plain truth.

I didn't trust them.
That's why I recorded it.

If they want to keep coming after me,
then let them.

-[camera shutter clicks]
-[Pedro] You heard all of it right.

Because we are not criminals!

The Prosecutor's Office
is making this a big joke.

They've been dishonest, and we'll
fight back because that's our right!

They're trying to silence us,
but we won't remain silent!

And we will not sit here and take
the blame for a crime that doesn't exist!

-[camera shutters clicking]
-[applause]

[tense music playing]

KISS CLUB:
PROSECUTORS SUE VICTIMS' PARENTS

KISS VICTIMS' PARENTS SUED BY THE D.A.

PARENTS ARE ACCUSED BY PROSECUTORS

PROSECUTORS CHARGE PARENTS
THEY WERE DEFENDING

[judge 1] Dark were the times
of the dictatorship,

when freedom was denied,

thinkers were exiled,

texts where censored,

and the courageous were tortured
and never seen again.

What Mrs. Meire Campos,
or Ana, wrote is all the truth.

The two are father and son,

and that fact is neither
slanderous, nor defamatory.

Mr. Geraldo has the right
to express his opinion.

Thus, I deem the accusation unfounded.

[sighs]

Therefore, due to a lack of evidence
of either slander or defamation,

this lawsuit is dismissed.

-[cheering]
-[judge 3] Court adjourned.

[whooping]

[Pedro] Thank you!

-[man] Congratulations.
-Oh, Sil!

-[Ricardo] Son!
-Hey, Dad!

[Lívia] Oh, honey.

PEACE FOR THE FAMILIES

[uplifting music playing]

[panting]

Hey, Dad. You okay?

-[Ricardo laughs]
-Hey!

Whoa, Lieutenant!

[both laughing]

[Grazi] Hey! What's goin' on?

[Fernando] It's that day?

[Grazi] Photo exhibit of the survivors.

-Can you believe it?
-It's worth it.

It is. Are you ready?

-Uh, truthfully?
-[Grazi] Mm-hmm.

I don't know. [chuckles] And you?

-Uh…
-What? Girl, you organized it!

I know. You'll be great. We'll be fine.

[light piano music playing]

-[man] I think it will.
-[Grazi] You ready?

[man] Let's do this.

-Let's go.
-[Fernando] Let's go.

Get closer, guys.

[camera shutter whirs and clicks]

FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF SANTA MARIA
CAMPUS

Is this what you wanted?

It'll be a great campaign.

And useful.

Yeah.

[emotional piano music playing]

What is it?

[both laugh gently]

[Grazi] It's okay.

[laughs]

Look at both of us.

We're so broken.

We're strong.

For sure.

[both chuckle]

[reporter] There's been a turn of events
in the Kiss nightclub lawsuit.

Years after the Prosecutor's Office
and the parents

managed to get a trial by jury,

the defendants' attorney has filed
an appeal to revert the decision…

Grandma, come play with us!

Hey, sweetie. Not right now.
Your grandma is busy.

Bruno, I thought
we had resolved all of this.

I explained
that this is settled by a higher court.

We're going back, Telma, again.

And I just can't accept it. I won't.

Guys, I just can't believe it.

[Ana] The worst part is having to trust
the prosecutors after all they did.

Hey, what happened? I ran like crazy!

-Are they suing us again?
-It's worse.

Well, Ricardo, get prepared.

-We're going to Porto Alegre.
-Why?

They're moving the trial forward
for the Kiss club owners

and the guys in the band.

The Court will make all of their judgments
without a popular jury.

Plus, no responsibility for the deaths.

[tense music playing]

Alê, honey, go bring that drawing here,

the one you made for Grandpa. Go get it.

[Geraldo sighs]

Do you really have to be there?

But why?

What do you mean, "why"?

We have to keep the pressure on, don't we?
I mean, it makes a difference.

I don't understand
why you're questioning me now.

I… I told you. Alê will be performing,
and he would love to see you there.

I would love to see him, too, but I…

Well, I'll need to…

[sighs]

[Telma] For how long?

[Geraldo sighs]

[Telma] It's out of your hands, Geraldo.

The Court will make the decision.

Some things are out of our control
at this point.

[somber music playing]

Yeah, it might be, Telma, but…

but…

What else would I do if I stop, huh?

If I don't do this, then what should I do?

[Geraldo sighs]

FOUR YEARS AND 11 MONTHS AFTER THE FIRE

[man] Now, I'd like to conclude
with the following.

If, from the start,

they would have been accused
of manslaughter from the very beginning,

they'd have already been tried,

and they'd have been convicted,

and these families
wouldn't still be waiting for an answer.

And the defendants wouldn't
be waiting for an answer either.

But that's not what happened.

What a son of a b*tch he is.

This guy files an appeal
and makes us wait,

and then bails them out using
our waiting time for this?

[attorney] What happened

was that the prosecutors

decided to force a homicide trial

and pin it on these four scapegoats
to cover up the men

who are actually responsible
for this tragedy.

Dedé,

Vicente,

Roberto,

Thales.

They were there.

Dedé's pregnant girlfriend
was there that night as well.

They all lost friends too.

And while only some of the accused
almost died physically that night,

I know

that on the inside,

they all have died.

My God! Please! Give me a break.
"On the inside, they're dead"?

-Seriously, I can't stand this.
-[attorney] So I ask you…

Were they reckless?

Yeah.

Now, was their recklessness

the primary cause
behind the victims' deaths,

and was it the main cause?

This is for a judge to decide,
not for a jury.

These guys never had
the intention of k*lling anyone.

Oh, f*ck this.

And they didn't ever imagine
what they did would k*ll anyone.

They had nothing to gain in doing so.
On the contrary.

At this point, their lives are over.

Defense rests.

I think they'll win.

Relax, Ana. Just stay calm--

You saw how convincing
that lawyer they had was.

Man, was that slippery.

He'll convince the Court. He will.

Why would they agree to rule on the appeal
if not to overturn this?

The club is being demolished.

And these guys will get off.
I know it. I'm sure they will.

[sighs deeply] They want to forget us.

[Silvana] I don't know.

Geraldo, what do you think?
You get all of this?

I, uh… I wish I had an answer.

Anything could happen.

Five years we've been suffering.
Was it for nothing?

You know something? I can't take any more.

-I can't take any more of this.
-Ana, look at me.

Calm down.

Come on now. We can't lose faith.

Article 18 of the Criminal Code
establishes

the idea that a homicide is
considered intentional

when a perpetrator intends to k*ll,

or when they accept the risk
of having caused a death.

It's considered manslaughter
when the death that resulted

was caused by recklessness, negligence,

or malpractice.

The club had only one door for an exit.

Then the capacity of the club was
well exceeded.

Fire in the club

envelops their ceiling.

Like a curtain, it covers the whole place.

But this was not imprudence,
negligence, or malpractice.

These were decisions
made by the defendants.

That's right!

And according to Article 61
of that very code,

those decisions constitute
the disgusting motive of greed

as each of them were made
with the intention

of saving the defendants a little cash.

And as a result,

each of these decisions,

which were made by the defendants,

caused 242 souls to be lost.

So here we are.

Well, at least that's
up to the jury to decide.

Because it should come down to the jury
to decide if they did have,

or if they did not have, the intent.

Because what happened,

it was not an accident
that could have been predicted.

And for God's sake,
it wasn't some divine act

but, instead, the result

of conscious choices of the defendants.

Thank you, Your Honor.

With that, I hand the floor
over to my colleague, the rapporteur.

For us to consider
a crime to be intentional,

as the prosecution so desires,

they would have to have been able to show,

at the least,
indications of criminal design

stemming from
a desire to extinguish human life.

I don't observe any such desire.

This is… Well, it's absurd, Lívia!

Thus, I accept the appeal of the defense
to conduct a trial

on the basis of manslaughter.

So does that mean
a jury won't make the call?

No, Sil. Just relax.
It's one vote. One vote.

We give the floor to the reviewer.

Fourteen people were accused

of a similar crime in Argentina,

and they were sentenced
to 15 years in prison.

Intent should be decided by a jury.

I vote to reject the defense's appeal.

-Yes!
-One to one. One to one.

[chief judge] Associate Judge?

I, too, vote with the reviewer.

[chief judge] Associate Judge?

I vote with the reviewer.

That's three to one now.

Next voting judge?

My vote is with the rapporteur.

[chief judge] Associate Judge?

-I vote with the reviewer.
-Four to two, guys.

Next Associate Judge.

I follow the rapporteur.

Just one more. Just one more!

As I am the presiding judge of the court,
I have the final vote for the case.

g*dd*mn it all!

Four to four! How could we lose to a tie?

This can't be. Hey, Bruno.

I won't accept all this bullshit.

Come on. There's still the appeal.

A tie will go to the jury.

The defendants have a disadvantage.
It's up to Brasília now.

[Lívia] But how long
will this take, Bruno?

How much time until the trial?

And how much longer after that?

You know that six parents
have passed away since the fire, Bruno.

Should we ask them to withdraw the appeal,
or just have the trial for manslaughter?

What? No, we don't.

[sighs] The system's like this.

They appeal first,

then we appeal,

and the loser files
a motion for reconsideration,

then come more appeals and motions.
And time keeps on passing.

Brazil's legal system is a bit Kafkaesque.

Just dealing with the lawsuit
is a sentence, really, for those at fault

and the victims as well.

These judges,
they just weren't there for it all.

I mean, they didn't have to go identify
the bodies of their own children.

I don't know, guys.
I… I can't take any more of this.

Ana, we can't back down.

[sighs] It's difficult, Pedro.

I get it, but, Ana, everything is.

Every single day has been difficult,
but it's only us.

The only ones who are fighting back
at this point are us and the Association.

Bruno, we have to get practical.
So what do we do next?

It's like I've said.
The prosecutor will appeal it.

But what about us?

Um, well, you need to trust
you'll get a popular jury.

We have to preserve everything,
and the club can't be demolished.

No, no.

[chilling music playing]

[glass crunches]

[music swells]

[woman] Sil? Are you okay?

I had to see it. I'm sorry.

It's okay. Don't apologize.

How are you feeling now?

I'm all right.
It's just… It's just my blood pressure.

-Maybe we can talk another time--
-No, no, no, I'm…

-[Silvana] I'm fine, yeah.
-You sure?

So tell me exactly how I can help you out.

You're working at the new mayor's office.

-Right?
-Yeah.

The Association wants you to bar
the nightclub's demolition.

But the memorial…
I thought that you wanted to--

[Ana] The memorial is for later,
after this is all over.

The jury should see the club in person.

That way,
they can observe the deathtrap it was.

A jury?

Yeah, we're trying
to get the appeal turned over.

[Ana] Listen.
So what we would really like--

[man] Don't you think
it's time to end this?

[Silvana] Hmm?

It's been five years!

Five years,
and all this sh*t is still here.

I'm really sorry,

you have my condolences,

but the city needs to move on.

Excuse you. Don't you think
you're being a bit selfish, sir?

I'm just thinking of my kids.

Just like you're thinking of yours.

We are here fighting for your kids!

[emotional music playing]

Because my daughter

and all of our kids…
Well, take a look at what happened!

Look at this!

Sir… Wait a minute.
Sir, please get out of here.

Don't ever speak those words.
Go away right now!

What an as*h*le. My God!

[panting]

[yelling]

Hey, Ricardo. Luis was wondering

if he could invite his girlfriend
over for dinner.

Actually, I'm the one
who wants to meet her.

We should invite her over
this weekend, I think.

What do you think, Ricardo?

Ricardo?

-[chair scrapes, thumps]
-Ricardo?

-[Ricardo groaning]
-Ricardo! Ricardo!

Ricardo, look at me!
Ricardo, what are you feeling?

Ri-- Luis!

Luis!

-Ricardo! Don't let him sleep, okay?
-What happened?

-Don't let him go to sleep! Stay here!
-Dad, look at me!

-Dad! Open your eyes! Please!
-Yes, son, do that!

Open your eyes. Stay with me, Dad, please!

-It's my husband, and I think…
-Stay with me!

-Well, I think it might be his heart.
-Dad! Dad! Please!

Don't sleep yet, Ricardo.
Please stay here!

[tense music playing]

He's doing much better now.

Oh, thank you, Lord.

But he will need
to take it slower for a bit.

In fact, you all should, Lívia.

Doctor, I--

The tragedy took your children.
Now it's k*lling the parents as well?

You're young.

[inhales deeply]

And maybe now it's time
to be taking care of yourself.

How would I do that?

How am I supposed to do that?

Tell me how, doctor.

Oh, my son.

[emotional music playing]

EMERGENCY

[air hissing, machine beeping softly]

Ricardo?

-Oh, Pedro!
-[Pedro chuckles]

Pedro! Pedro,
it's so great you're here. [chuckles]

Oh, Ricardo,
don't do that to me again, okay?

Who's gonna fight with the prosecutors
and get tough when it's needed?

-Well, I certainly cannot do it.
-[laughs]

I'm gonna need to take a break, brother.

No, of course.
You have to take care of yourself.

Take the time. As long as you need. Yeah?

And I want you to rest assured
that Geraldo, and Ana, Bruno, and I,

we're not going to drop the ball, okay?

So you just rest
and keep it together because…

[emotional guitar music playing]

You know, Ricardo…

I don't think anyone in the world
gets me like you do.

You are my brother.

My brother.

[sobbing softly]

I don't want to lose a brother
to this damn club, too, man!

I'm sorry, Ricardo.

Hey. No, no. No, no, no.

I…

[Pedro exhales]

I wanted to go, almost.

-[Pedro] No, don't say that.
-I mean, I didn't really want to die yet.

But I thought for a sec that…

that if I did,

you know, if I let go,

that I could maybe end up with him, Pedro.
[laughs softly]

Right?

But the truth is that I really can't.

And I…

I don't want to do that, Pedro.

Not right now. Not yet, I don't.

I really do love Lívia.

[laughing] I love her.

And, Pedro, I love Luis.
He's my son, and he's right here.

He's living right now, and he needs me.

Well, I mean,
I'm not sure if he needs me, you know?

But I need him so much right now, Pedro.

I want to see my grandchildren, Pedro.

I want to live to see Luis
as a grown man. I have to.

So pay attention, okay?

I'm not taking a leave of absence
from the presidency, Pedro.

I'm quitting as the president.
I'm resigning from the presidency.

But the thing that… that I'd like…

What I want now

is for you
to take the place as president, Pedro.

-Me, though?
-You, Pedro.

Oh, Ricardo.

[sniffles] Ricardo, Ricardo.

Ricardo, I…
I told you that's not my thing.

I fight on the ground. I'm no diplomat.

Pedro, my friend, you've been the heart
of this association for a very long time.

And I don't trust anyone in the world
more than I trust you.

-All right.
-[Ricardo] Yeah?

-Yeah, all right.
-[Ricardo] Yeah?

[Pedro] But listen,

don't you scare me like that again,
or I'll be the one who doesn't make it.

Pedro! Pedro, my brother.

-Ah, you are my brother!
-Yeah.

[somber piano music playing]

[whispers] Hey, Pedro, what are you doing?

Are you gonna stay there?

Well, all right.

Well.

It's that time?

Why don't you come along?

To Brasília?

Let those guys look us in the eye

and try to tell us
our kids weren't assassinated.

I'll go.

SIX AND A HALF YEARS AFTER THE FIRE

SUPERIOR COURT OF APPEALS

-[Geraldo] Hi. How are you?
-Good afternoon.

-Hello. How's it going?
-[Geraldo] Good afternoon.

[Pedro sighs] Come on.

[Pedro sighs]

Now or never, huh?

No, there's still the Supreme Court.

This will take time.
The statute of limitations will run out.

No, it won't, Geraldo.

This will be overturned here.

Well, I admire your optimism.

[Pedro chuckles]

It's not optimism, my friend.

It's exhaustion.

[both laugh]

Only you could make me laugh
at a time like this.

[both laugh]

[buzzer]

[judge] Let's begin.

We'll begin ruling on the appeal
from the Prosecutor's Office,

which has requested

that the ruling by the Rio Grande do Sul
Justice Court be overturned,

and that the lawsuit's defendants

be tried by… a popular jury
for the crime of m*rder.

The opening statement will be given
by the Association's attorney,

Dr. Bruno Fontenelle.

Good afternoon.

To the ladies and gentlemen of the court,

my colleagues in the defense will argue
that there was no malice

because there was no intention.

That none of these gentlemen

left their houses on January 27th, 2013,

with the desire to k*ll
242 young Brazilians.

That they, too, were at the club
that night, that they also lost friends…

[laughs] …and that it was an accident.

We are not here to judge
whether or not they are guilty,

but whether or not there is
enough evidence of it,

which is believed
by the Prosecutor's Office,

as well as the lawsuit's original judge

and the four associate judges
of this state's Court of Justice.

The defendant wins if there are
reasonable doubts in a trial by jury.

But here, it's in dubio pro societate.

Society has the right to.

To try them.

I would like to say a big thank you

to all of the mothers

and all of the fathers,
and tell you that we will win this.

We will move forward.

Thank you very much.

[judge] That concludes the statement
from Dr. Bruno Fontenelle.

If one car loses control on a wet road
and hits another, it's an accident.

But if a driver throws back
a bottle of alcohol and hits a pedestrian,

then he has accepted that risk.

Your Excellency, please.

These statements
aren't supposed to be allowed.

Please, silence in the court, gentlemen.

If a boat is turned over in a storm,
it's an accident.

But when the owner of the Bateau Mouche

allowed 142 two passengers
aboard a craft fit for only 62 passengers,

the extra weight making it sink,

without providing life vests,
and 55 people end up dying,

he accepted that risk.

Your Honor!

If rain causes a landslide,
that's an accident.

But when an executive placed a restaurant

in the path of the Brumadinho dam
and he knew very well it could be hit,

and the dam broke,
k*lling everyone inside,

he accepted that risk--

This is not allowed in court,
Your Honor, please.

[Pedro] When the director of the Flamengo
receives a report

that reveals a great risk
in the electrical panel

of one of the containers,

and then proceeds
to let young men sleep in it,

and a short circuit leads
the container to catch fire,

causing ten young men to die,
he has accepted that risk.

Your Honor, our legislation doesn't allow
this type of testimony in court--

I refuse to silence a father
the way the Prosecutor's Office did.

And when the owner of a nightclub

allows it to fill beyond capacity

with no emergency exits

or fire extinguishers,

guests barricaded
with metal bars blocking the exit

and a toxic foam on the ceiling,

and still allows
a pyrotechnical performance.

Or when a musician from a band

goes with fireworks meant to be used
outdoors because they're cheaper

but uses them inside the club

and sees the club's ceiling is on fire,
with his microphone held firm…

in his hand,

doesn't warn a single kid
in the club that night,

he accepted that risk, Your Honor.

[emotional music playing]

[sighs heavily]

However, the real question

is not if these four defendants
are or are not culpable here.

Because I already have an answer for that.

But the question
that the Court needs to ask

is if a life has a value or doesn't.

Or if there's any value

in the lives of the 242 innocent victims
that were lost.

Is there any value in the suffering
of the members of their families

and their friends, who,
for over six and a half years now,

have demanded justice.

And if the guys who did it
are to be held responsible

so this doesn't ever happen again.

That is, if anyone can be held responsible
in a country that's so devoid of justice.

[emotional music continues]

[Pedro sighs heavily]

Look, I'm not an attorney.

I'm a father.

All of us are

fathers and mothers

who, for six and a half years,
have been in and out of courtrooms,

asking for no more than justice.

And when that justice does arrive,

our children will still have passed away,

and all of our lives will still be empty.

But at the very least…

Well, at least
they'll finally be able to rest.

And you judges have the power here

to state, here and now,
that the lives lost were not worthless,

and if someone takes a human life,
they deserve to be tried for it.

So now I'm asking you…

Well, no, no. I…

I implore you.

Let the jury decide.

But just please don't say

that it was a fated accident.

Thank you.

Well, sir,

I'm very sorry.

And I must say that,

as a mother, as a Brazilian,

as well as a human,

I really can't help but feel touched.

I can't help but be outraged.

But anyway…

We are in the Superior Court of Justice,

and our constitution
and our system of justice

do not permit us to examine
the merit of the issue at hand.

[continues on TV] The only thing
that we can do is interpret the laws.

And our responsibility is to revisit

the decision made by the Court of Justice,

which ended in a tie, four to four.

And that tie would favor the defendants

so they are tried
for the crime of manslaughter,

and not by a popular jury.

The decision of guilt at this point
is basically in favor of the defendant,

all because we have a draw.

But

right now,
we are not deciding upon who's guilty.

Well,

if there are divergences in the court,

it suggests that the possibility exists,
that if the case were presented to a jury,

the jury may well believe
it was a homicide

with assumption of risk.

And the burden of proof still remains
with the Office of the Prosecutor.

But your right
to present the case to a jury

must be respected.

So, that said,

I do uphold the appeal

of the Prosecutor's Office
of Rio Grande do Sul.

[applause]

[sobbing]

["Sentinela" by Milton Nascimento
and Nana Caymmi playing]

Thank you. Thank you.

[sobbing]

[singing in Portuguese]

The trial, scheduled for March 16, 2020,
was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic

and only took place in December 2021,
almost nine years after the fire.

The jury sentenced the four defendants
to 19 to 22 years in prison.

[singing in Portuguese continues]

Nine months after, for technical reasons,

the Rio Grande do Sul Justice Court
overturned the verdict,

and the defendants were freed.
A new jury trial has yet to be scheduled.

A decade after the fire,
no one is in jail.

The Santa Maria Tragedy Victims'
Families and Survivors Association

is fighting so that those responsible
don't go unpunished.

FOR MEMORY, FOR JUSTICE,
IT SHALL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN