The World of Brazilian Cinema
Article by Ashley Hajimirsadeghi, artwork by Mallika Sunder
Brazil: it’s the largest country in Latin America and has a population of 212 million. But did you know that Brazil was one of the first countries to adopt cinema? In 1895, the Lumière Brothers, two Frenchmen, showed a short film on a large screen in Paris for the first time. Shortly after, in 1896, Brazilians began to screen films domestically. Something is quite unique about the early period of Brazilian cinematic history: unlike how international films were commonly shown in other countries, domestically made movies were all the rage in Brazil.
1908-1912 was called bela época, or the golden age of Brazilian cinema, and locals made hundreds of short films during this era. However, in 1911, North American cinema became more popular since North Americans saw Brazil as a valuable market to tap into for profit. During the remainder of the silent era, domestically-made films like Moralizing Example (Exemplo Regenerador, Gilberto Rossi, 1919) and The Boundary (Limite, Mario Peixoto, 1930) leaned towards independent filmmaking and within the genre of avant-garde (highly artistic). The Boundary is particularly notorious, as it is considered one of the most significant films in the history of Brazilian cinema.
As the silent era ended, Brazilians took back the industry, providing Portuguese content. A new genre called chanchada, which mixed musicals with Brazilian comic theatre and carnivals, became extremely popular from the 1930s-1970s. Notable films from this era were Carnaval Atlântida (José Carlos Burle, 1952), The Bandit (O Cangaceiro, Lima Barreto, 1953), and Song of the Sea (O Canto do Mar, Alberto Cavalcanti, 1953). The Bandit put Brazil on the map of global cinema, as it went on to win two prizes at Cannes Film Festival and was distributed across 22 countries.
Then came Cinema Nôvo. This defied the comedic traditions that had been a staple in Brazilian cinema, and came across in three different waves. In the first wave (1960-1964), the rural Brazilian countryside and the struggles of the everyday working class, like starvation, religious tensions, and violence, were depicted in black and white. By the second wave (1974-1968), Cinema Nôvo had lost its appeal, as Brazil became a military-run autocracy, and the original first wave promoted ideologies of democracy. The films of the second wave adjusted to a more mainstream approach, utilizing color and depicting middle class citizens. Finally, during the third wave (1968-1972), political messages varied, but cannibalism, metaphorically and literally, reigned supreme.
Retomada is the contemporary era of Brazilian cinema, and it started in 1995. Brazilian cinema had a slump until then, as the mid 1970s-1990s showed a decline in the production of movies. Now, Brazilian cinema mixes social and political commentary, a nod to Cinema Nôvo, and has since gained international acclaim yet again. Here, films like Four Days in September (O Que É Isso, Companheiro, Bruno Barreto, 1997) and City of God (Cidade de Deus, Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, 2002) gained international acclaim.
NOTABLE FILMS:
City of God / Cidade de Deus, Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund (2002)
Considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, City of God is a tale of two kids from the slums of Rio de Janeiro in the 1960s. As one aims to become a photographer, the other seeks out to become a drug lord. A story of violence, life, death, and life changing decisions, City of God is both heartbreaking and a tale of warning.
Central Station / Central do Brasil, Walter Salles (1998)
This is the film that landed its actress, Fernanda Montenegro, a nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards—the first Brazilian to ever do so. In Central Station, we follow Montenegro’s character, Dora, a retired schoolteacher who writes letters for those illiterate. The story is about how she befriends Josué, a nine year old homeless and orphaned boy, and they journey to find his absentee father.
A Dog’s Will / O Auto da Compadecida, Guel Arraes (2000)
Set in rural 1930s Brazil, A Dog’s Will follows two very cowardly, but quite clever, men who want to trick people in order to survive. The film is about their plotting, but it is foiled right at the beginning as a strange bandit appears and starts killing the townspeople. Surreal and strange, it provides an interesting perspective on Brazil’s past.
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands / Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos, Bruno Barreto (1976)
In Dona Flor, it follows a woman who married a man, who, in a nutshell, is slightly useless. She works for their money, while he gambles it away. When he dies and she finally finds happiness in a new husband, his ghost comes back to haunt her. Until the release of Central Station, this comedy was the highest grossing Brazilian movie in the United States.
Vidas Secas, Nelson Pereira dos Santos (1963)
A first-wave Cinema Nôvo film, Vidas follows a family wandering the northeastern province. A drought has taken away their livelihood and all they can do is survive. It is based off of the novel (of the same name) by Graciliano Ramos, who wrote it in 1938, that is now considered a classic in Brazilian literature.
