Máscaras de Oxigênio Não Cairão Automaticamente (Portuguese Series) [Oxygen Masks Will Not Drop Automatically]

This was the first big Brazilian drama that HBO worked on, and it’s a five-episode miniseries that lasts almost five hours in total. It’s a really emotional and political story set in Rio de Janeiro during the late 1980s, and it does a great job of showing what that era felt like while the country was dealing with the HIV/AIDS crisis. Since the world feels so divided today, the show is a beautiful reminder of how queer people can find power by standing together when things are hard. The story is actually based on real things that happened, specifically about flight attendants who smuggled AIDS medicine from the US into Brazil in the 80s. It works as both a history drama and a strong political message.

The show is mostly about three people: Nando, his best friend Lea (they both work as flight attendants for Fly Brasil), and Raul, who is a performer and an activist. A lot of the story happens at a club called Paradise, which was one of the few open gay clubs back in the 80s. Nando is a happy guy who loves partying, dancing, and his job, and he’s secretly dating a famous soccer star. He hears about HIV/AIDS, but everything changes when his friends start dying and he gets a positive diagnosis himself. He hears about a drug called AZT and plans to start smuggling it from New York because the Brazilian government isn't taking the sickness seriously and the drug hasn't been approved by health experts there yet. Meanwhile, Lea is having an affair with a pilot and finds out she’s pregnant. The pilot is married and has a teenage son who actually gets diagnosed with AIDS later because of using drugs. The pilot joins Nando and Lea in the smuggling ring, even though he doesn't know Lea is pregnant, and Nando promises to marry Lea so the baby has his name. Even the lead flight attendant joins in because her brother has AIDS and needs meds. Just when things look better, the pilot’s son kills himself, and the pilot refuses to help smuggle drugs anymore. We meet a few other characters along the way, too. Nando’s soccer boyfriend eventually leaves him, and Raul, who was his best friend, becomes the love of his life. Raul is a big activist for LGBTQ rights. When airport security finds out about the smuggling, Nando gets fired, and his health starts to get worse. Even though he has a baby now and is happy with Raul, he doesn't have long to live. In the end, a large group protests against Fly Brasil to show how they were secretly testing workers for HIV and firing them. Because of this, the airline agrees to bring AZT into Brazil from the US, and the government finally starts acting to fix the pandemic.

We have seen many movies about the AIDS epidemic, but the Brazilian style and the way this story is told really make a difference. The series is dedicated to the people who started the fight against AIDS in Brazil, a country that actually became a leader in medical help for the disease. It’s meant for younger people who might not know what the AIDS pandemic was really like. The show points out how lazy the Brazilian authorities were and how much judgment and stigma there was in society. The way they show the 80s is really impressive, and the actors do a great job fitting their roles perfectly. The show has fun parts and very sad parts, and I have to say it’s very hard to binge-watch. I got very emotional and felt what the characters were going through in a way that I think only the community could feel. I had to take one or two-day breaks between episodes for many reasons because there is so much happening and you need emotional energy to take it all in. I still find it hard to believe how the whole situation was handled back then. Since I had only seen the UK and USA versions of this history, seeing it from a Brazilian point of view was new.

The show proves that talking about AIDS prevention is still very important. It reminds us that a lack of info and people staying silent has already cost way too many lives. The actors are all amazing. Nando is the heart of the show, and the way he and Lea take care of each other is really special. You really wish you had friends like them. I also liked seeing Nando’s relationship with his mother and how she reacted when she finally found out about his sickness and that he was gay. Raul is another very important character who starts off as a mentor for the performers at Paradise, but his growth into an activist and his love for Nando is brilliant. There are a few other characters who stand out in smaller parts, showing how they and their families deal with getting infected. 

Shows like this are so important to watch. I’m surprised HBO in the US hasn't released this yet because it makes no sense. This is exactly the kind of show that needs more viewers. It really deserves to be seen. (8/10)