Until a few years ago, MTV produced the show Cribs, in which celebrities showed viewers their multimillion-dollar villas. People who lend themselves to this type of television usually have one thing in common: they are true narcissists. Without a doubt, that label also applies to Nelma Kodama, a Brazilian dentist who set up an empire of money laundering practices, she was exposed and, through Netflix, seems to have been right in a curious way. Nelma proudly shows us the Italian furniture in her luxury apartment and talks to us about dollars, politicians and the 'Car Wash' operation, but above all, of course: about her own personality.
Nelma considers herself an artist, an orchestra director. When she talks about her criminal past dressed and made up impeccably, she does so with the grandiloquence of an actor who must give the audience an unforgettable evening. To the extent that her story no longer has the characteristics of a Hollywood saga, she adds it herself. Nelma clearly thinks she is a fantastic person and likes to talk about her own ingenuity and entrepreneurial instincts. The documentary supports this with romantic and recreated scenes, often in slow motion.
Director: João Wainer
Stars: Nelma Kodama, Anzu Lawson
In addition to Nelma herself, friends, journalists, lawyers and former employees, both supporters and opponents of money laundering, also have a voice. One of the interviewees jokingly calls her “Satan in a skirt,” but no one shames her mercilessly. Everyone seems captivated by the charm of the expressive Brazilian; It's the devil's best trick. The team of young lawyers still fighting for the annulment of Nelma's sentence in the Lava Jato case even adores her to the point of morbidity.
But we are talking about a woman who used children as money smugglers and through her “profession” facilitated criminal activities that create real victims. One such victim is the Brazilian rainforest, where ninety-eight percent of logging is done illegally, which is only possible through money laundering schemes like Nelma's. Doleira: A História de Nelma Kodama features several speakers explaining in detail that white collar crimes are not squeaky clean, but Nelma is having none of that. She sees herself as a taxi driver who simply takes salespeople to customers. He also delicately charged double percentages for her.
The documentary ends with a series of accusations against the main financial systems and the structure of the global economy, which is largely based on corruption and black money. A sign and a warning, also for the Western powers. Furthermore, the story of the glamorous villain, who attended talk shows and photo shoots with her ankle bracelet, is something that Dutch viewers will not easily relate to. We have Sywert van Lienden again.
Nelma is a medium-sized fish with no honor or conscience in the vast sea of financial crime, although she thinks very differently about it. Netflix gives her carte blanche on the television scene, which will not harm her social networks. She will be able to buy some Italian antiques again. The documentary presses the accelerator halfway against the romanticization of crime, but above all it seems to be a toy of this authentic narcissist. Was it still successful?
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