Olinda’s Golden Arches

When the first McDonald’s branch opened in Moscow after the Cold War ended, the queue was so long that it wove around the city, and McDonald’s became a symbol of capitalist conquest. Elsewhere on the globe, in the Brazilian town of Olinda, things did not go as well for the burger company. In Olinda, a war for mayor is being waged between two women, Jacilda Urquiza, a traditional conservative with a string of dirty tricks up her sleeve, and Luciana Santos, a well-loved local woman running as a communist. This charmingly made film presents the battle between the two women and McDonald’s’ attempt to claim the soul of Olinda – or at least the wallets of its residents – as two elements of a broader narrative. Fueled by a hyperkinetic enthusiasm and some sharp editing, the film weaves together numerous strands of recent history, creating an alternative story of globalism that can’t help but take gentle delight in its sly digs at the American Empire.