Bacurau

The people of Bacurau gather for Carmelita's funeral, acknowledging her as the town's matriarch. Teresa, Carmelita's granddaughter, returns after many years to attend the ceremony and to bring medicine for those who are sick. The event marks the start of a cascade of strange and escalating happenings around the village.

Bacurau inexplicably disappears from online maps and satellite imagery, isolating the residents from the outside world. Mobile phone signals drop, cutting them off further and heightening the sense of a creeping threat. The town's strange isolation sets the tone for the rest of the events.

Residents report a drone hovering overhead, its shape reminiscent of a UFO. A unnamed couple from southern Brazil passes through the town on motorcycles, signaling that outsiders are watching Bacurau’s fate. These sightings deepen the sense of vulnerability and manipulation.

A conflict over control of the town's water rages on as upstream damming is exposed as part of a corrupt scheme led by the wealthy mayor, Tony Junior. The dispute feeds political tensions, with the mayor campaigning for votes while promising nothing in terms of water relief. The townspeople grow wary and protective of their scarce resource.

Tony Junior arrives in Bacurau to win votes, bringing old food and tattered books as tokens of generosity. He offers no real solution for water, and the townspeople choose to hide rather than engage. The encounter underscores the town's precarious leverage under a corrupt leadership.

A tanker truck delivering water finally arrives for Bacurau, a hope of relief that is quickly dashed when it is riddled with bullets. The attack underscores the violent stakes behind basic resources and the town's isolation. The incident marks a turning point toward direct confrontation.

Two local men ride out to the nearby farm following the stampede through town and discover a murdered family. As they attempt to leave the property, they are themselves killed by southern motorcyclists. The violence demonstrates how quickly the town is drawn into the larger conflict.

An unnamed couple from southern Brazil crosses paths with a group of mostly American foreigners led by Michael. They are chastised for killing the two men earlier, which the foreigners insist robbed them of points in their game. The exchange marks the first explicit tension between Bacurau's protectors and the outsiders.

After receiving unheard instructions through earpieces, the foreigners kill the couple and then argue over who earned points for their deaths. The violent moment deepens the sense that the outsiders are playing a deadly game at Bacurau's expense. The group's brutality becomes a symbol of the town being targeted.

The foreigners begin hunting the townspeople, prompting Pacote to seek out Lunga, a revolutionary who has taken shelter with the community. Lunga agrees to join the defense, signaling a unified resistance forming within Bacurau. The townspeople arm themselves for the coming confrontation.

The attackers intensify their assault, killing a nine-year-old boy and cutting off the town's electricity. The violence has a personal cost for the community and raises the stakes for the resistance. The night becomes a crucible for Bacurau's defenders.

That morning, the locals overpower the remaining foreigners and Michael is captured. Tony Junior arrives in a luxury minibus to collect them, but he denies knowledge of the group's existence when questioned. The mayor is seized and sent away to die in the desert while Michael is buried alive in an underground cell, muttering that this is only the beginning.