And All Before his 17th Birthday!

When I attended the world premiere of O Rei da Internet at the 43rd Annual Miami Film Festival, I went in completely blind. 

The most I knew was 1990s Brazil, early internet, hackers, and heists. It turns out that my lack of prior knowledge didn’t matter– there’s no preparing for The King of the Internet.

This film is a car crash in slow motion, and it’s a question of when, not if, it’ll all go up in flames. And trust, it is an absolutely wild ride from start to finish. 

O Rei da Internet (The King of the Internet) is based on the true story of Daniel Nascimento, who came to prominence as one of the best hackers in Brazil, before getting arrested for association with a criminal ring responsible for the theft of millions of reais. All before his seventeenth birthday.

To start, this is a very well crafted film.

O Rei da Internet boasts a killer soundtrack, alternating from great 2000s rock hits to club music to tender orchestral pieces. The cinematography, too, is next level. The trailer hints at the chaos of the party sequences and action scenes, delivered in a dizzying array of snapshots and jumpcuts. While these could have become overwhelming, they are paired with quiet moments, contrasting the violent motion of Daniel’s digital life with the marked stillness of his childhood home.

Every frame is something wholly new and unique, keeping the audience baited along for each new escapade.

When Daniel recounts his first major hack, he suddenly is sitting not at a computer, but at a grand piano. As he performs his concerto, fingers flying over the keys, he explains how he systematically overwhelmed Brazil’s largest telemetry company by harnessing every computer that had installed Counter Strike in the country. In the final notes, just when you think the song is over, he receives an invitation to join the country’s most elite ring of hackers. He raises the baton again.

As he pulls the audience in deeper, it is impossible not to get sucked into his hurricane. It is simply exhilarating. 

It is clear that many hours of research and attention to detail helped to put this film together. Anchored in 90s Brazil at the dawn of the internet, there are so many little facets that bring this world to life– the plastic dust protectors, the “computer safety” course Daniel takes, a late-night caper to reconnect to the internet by way of manually splicing into the payphone on the street corner for dial-up. The fashion and settings are impeccable, showcasing the range from sophisticated streetwear to Carolina’s rebel girl outfits. Individual personalities are clearly depicted in the characters’ bedrooms, cars, and, of course, their technology.

The film hits the usual beats– the backstory of a troubled child with a punchable face, retreating into counterculture and finding a thing that finally makes them special.  Realizing that even when their status changes, with newfound money or fame, some people will never see or understand what they’ve done, and others will see right through them. Realizing that to truly chase the extent of their dreams, they may have to leave behind everything they’ve ever known.

When Daniel leaves his hometown for glory and cash with an elite scammer circle in Porto Alegre, his life quickly spirals beyond his wildest fantasies. The criminal syndicate he has joined seems to have more cash than they can spend, and now some of it is his. Like a kid in a candy store, Daniel tries it all (literally). At least half of this movie is pure adrenaline and sugar rush. 

However, there comes a point where there’s too much. The higher the high, the harder the fall, after all. Daniel‘s life changes from being one of dedicated, if not honest, work, to never-ending parties, drugs, and sex. He oversteps and he outsources and he overspends. Daniel learns nothing from his mistakes, and keeps making more of them, confident he will be protected and outlast his mistakes. The audience, who knows from the beginning that this ends in sirens and chains, wonders just how long he has, and how far he’ll go in the meantime.

There is a slight indulgent interlude where we meet Daniel’s teenage love, Carolina– one of the few senses of normalcy in the film. She is alternative and cool and doesn’t fall for Daniel’s partyboy shtick, forcing him to try harder to actually get to know her. For a while, they live together in his whirlwind, until things (literally) go up in smoke. It is one of the few moments that explicitly reminds the viewer that despite all he has done, Daniel really is just sixteen years old. 

This is a key component of the film. While Daniel is trying to emulate the adult figures around him, to join the crowd and do it all, he is undeniably young. His age and inexperience hang awkwardly off of him like an ill-fitting suit. His actions have real world consequences— he ruins not only his own life, but that of his best friend, his girlfriend, his co-workers, his family. He tries to portray himself as an adult, but falters when the world treats him like one. After he gets blackmailed and half-drowned by cops, and he realizes he is still the bullied kid getting a swirlie. He spends his money and throws massive parties and does it all but it all rings so, so hollow. The film’s overt sexuality falls in the same vein— there is so much of it, in both quality and quantity, that it passes “over the top” and spills over into disbelief. 

It feels like an embellished tale a teenager would brag about to his friends, not realizing that it just sounds fake, and kind of sad. 

João Guilherme Ávila is a showstopper in the starring role of Daniel Nascimento. Balancing the bullied schoolkid, the scheming hacker, the party boy, and the teenager beneath it all is a tall order, and Guilherme delivers above and beyond. Guilherme not only excels in the transition through these roles, but the speed bumps along the way. Nascimento could easily have become completely insufferable, cocky and remorseless with seemingly infinite power suddenly beneath his fingertips, but Guilherme remains charming and personable throughout. 

I ultimately rated O Rei da Internet 4 out of 5 stars. The screening at the Miami Film Festival was the film’s world premiere, and first showing outside of Brazil. I look forward to seeing the Brazilian reception to this film, and hope it receives a theatrical release in the United States. While really strong, it could have used more time in the editing booth– towards the end, audience members were visibly beginning to check the time. Additionally, the wild party scenes eventually became overwhelming, taking away from the rest of the film. 

Still, I really enjoyed this film and highly recommend it for heist and action lovers. O Rei da Internet pulls you under from the start, and when it spits you out again, mouth dry and head spinning, it leaves you wondering what the hell you just watched. 

And reaching back to make sure you still have your wallet.