All-Time Best Movies from Brazil
An overview of 90 years of Brazilian cinema through 40 of its most accomplished landmarks.
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40 titles
- DirectorGlauber RochaStarsJardel FilhoPaulo AutranJosé LewgoyIn the fictional Latin American country Eldorado, a poet tries to effect political change by influencing powerful men.
- DirectorGlauber RochaStarsGeraldo Del ReyYoná MagalhãesOthon BastosAfter killing his employer when he tries to cheat him out of his payment, a man becomes an outlaw and starts following a self-proclaimed saint.
- DirectorRogério SganzerlaStarsHelena IgnezPaulo VillaçaPagano SobrinhoThe story of a famous Brazilian criminal, called The Red Light Bandit because he always used a red flashlight to break in the houses during the night. Working alone, he also used to rape his female victims.
- DirectorNelson Pereira dos SantosStarsModesto De SouzaRoberto BataglinJece ValadãoA semi-documentary on the people of Rio de Janeiro. The camera follows boys from a hillside shanty town who sell peanuts at Copacabana, Sugar Loaf Mountain, and a soccer game. Various subplots, involving characters they meet along the way, are interspersed.
- DirectorEduardo CoutinhoStarsEduardo CoutinhoElizabeth TeixeiraFerreira GullarA filmmaker returns to Northeast Brazil after twenty years to resume his film (a profile of assassinated peasant leader João Pedro Teixeira) which was shut down by a right-wing military coup in 1964.
- DirectorJoaquim Pedro de AndradeStarsGrande OteloPaulo JoséJardel FilhoOur story begins with Macunaima's miraculous birth to an old woman in a tiny jungle settlement. Born fully grown, he discovers his life's purpose which leads him and his family and followers on a journey to the Big City. More miracles occur on the way, but Macunaima still has the heart and mind of a child. In the Big City, terrorists enlist him in their revolutionary schemes. In the Big City he learns that nuts are not always food and other hilarious life lessons.
- DirectorRuy GuerraStarsÁtila IórioNelson XavierMaria GladysIn an extremely poor region in the Northeast of Brazil, a group of soldiers try to stop the population from sacking a food deposit.
- DirectorMario PeixotoStarsOlga BrenoTatiana ReyRaul SchnoorThree people (Raul Schnoor, Olga Breno and Tatiana Rey) sail aimlessly while remembering their past.
- DirectorLeon HirszmanStarsGianfrancesco GuarnieriFernanda MontenegroCarlos Alberto RiccelliUnion leader's son doesn't want to engage in a strike, because his wife is pregnant, thus disregarding his father's tradition of political activism.
- DirectorNelson Pereira dos SantosStarsÁtila IórioMaria RibeiroOrlando MacedoA poor family in the Northeast of Brazil (Fabiano, the father; Sinhá Vitória, the mother; their 2 children and a dog called Baleia) wander about the barren land searching for a better place to live, with food and work. But the drought and misery destroy their hopes.
- DirectorLuiz Sérgio PersonStarsAna EsmeraldaEva WilmaOtelo ZeloniA man lives in conflict as he deals with his friends and love interests against the backdrop of São Paulo.
- DirectorHector BabencoStarsReginaldo FariaAna Maria MagalhãesMilton GonçalvesHistory of a famous Brazilian bandit of the early seventies.
- DirectorRoberto FariasStarsEliezer GomesReginaldo FariaJorge DóriaFilm about the true events in Rio de Janeiro, in 1960, when a gang having the infamous outlaw Tião Medonho as a leader performed a sensational railroad hold-up on a train carrying a small fortune.
- DirectorDomingos de OliveiraStarsLeila DinizPaulo JoséFlávio MigliaccioA womanizer suddenly finds a woman who makes him change the way he looks at women. He falls in love and believes she is, in fact, all women in one. Because of that, he faces an important decision: go on with his old life, or embrace this special relationship and become a monogamous man.
- DirectorFernando MeirellesKátia LundStarsAlexandre RodriguesLeandro FirminoMatheus NachtergaeleIn the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
- DirectorHumberto MauroStarsDurval BelliniDea SelvaLu MarivalA man kills his wife on their wedding night, after discovering she had been unfaithful. After being acquitted, he moves to the country, where he falls in love with an innocent girl.
- DirectorAndrea TonacciStarsPaulo César PeréioAbrahão FarcJura OteroThe actor of a film being made lives without distinction his own personal reality and his character's fiction. As the involuntary object of chance and circumstance, he looks for a meaning and way out, while being pursued by outlaws, a magician, a romantic fantasy, a drunk and his own self-image. The humour, the reason of the persecution, situations, personages, set decoration, dialogs and soundtrack (which uses themes from other films) lead us to symbols, metaphors and the refusal of a possible logical narrative, in a way to allow the viewer to experiment a sensation analogous to the one of the main character, inducing in him the need of thinking a meaning while lost and led by the sustained expectation, and by the intentionally recurrent anti-climax.
- DirectorRoberto SantosStarsLeonardo VillarJofre SoaresMaria RibeiroAugusto Matraga is a violent agressive farmer who after being betrayed by his wife and trapped by several enemies is bitten up and left for dead. He is rescued by a couple of humble small farmers who nurse him for a long time until he is well again. Influenced by the couple Augusto Matraga turns to a religiosity a long time neglected, believing he is atoning for past sins. Then he starts a long penitent life while waiting for his hour and chance. As time goes on he comes strong again but he only realize this after meeting Joaozinho Bem Bem, a famous chief of "jaguncos" who sees in him the violent man he was. Augusto Matraga starts a fight between his violent nature, his hidden desire of vengeance and the mysticism and goodness which is also part of him. This conflict lasts until the moment when his hour and his chance comes, the hour and chance to fight, to struggle an to use his strength and courage in the name of faith and humanity.
- DirectorNelson Pereira dos SantosStarsCarlos VerezaGlória PiresNildo ParenteGraciliano Ramos' period he spent in prison after being considered a subversive element by the government.
- DirectorAnselmo DuarteStarsLeonardo VillarGlória MenezesDionísio AzevedoA simple yet devout Christian makes a vow to Saint Barbara after she saves his donkey, but everyone he meets seems determined to misunderstand his intentions. Will he be able to keep his promise in the end?
- DirectorArnaldo JaborStarsPaulo PortoDarlene GlóriaElza GomesRich, spoiled youngman encounters a prostitute, and gets confused about the nature of his feelings for her; he can't decide between attraction, and repulsion.
- DirectorWalter Hugo KhouriStarsNorma BengellOdete LaraMário BenvenuttiTwo friends take two prostitutes for a night of pleasure. But the night turns out to be frustrating for all involved, as much bitterness is revealed in their conversation and attitudes, uncovering their anguish and deeper feelings, and the emptiness of their lives.
- DirectorSuzana AmaralStarsMarcelia CartaxoJosé DumontTamara TaxmanMacabea has just moved to the big city after her aunt, who raised her, died. She gets a job as a typist and moves into a boarding house with three other women. In her spare time she listens to time Radio Station; on Sundays she likes to ride the subways. She describes herself saying, "I am a typist and a virgin, and I like Coca-Cola." Then she meets Olimpico, a north-easterner like herself, who has dreams of becoming a Congressman.
- DirectorJorge FurtadoStarsPaulo JoséCiça ReckziegelDouglas TraininiThe ironic, heartbreaking and acid "saga" of a spoiled tomato: from the plantation of a "Nisei" (Brazilian with Japanese origins); to a supermarket; to a consumer's kitchen to become sauce of a pork meat; to the garbage can since it is spoiled for the consumption; to a garbage truck to be dumped in a garbage dump in "Ilha das Flores"; to the selection of nutriment for pigs by the employees of a pigs breeder; to become food for poor Brazilian people.
- DirectorHector BabencoStarsFernando Ramos da SilvaJorge JuliãoGilberto MouraThe life of a boy on the streets of Sao Paulo, involved with crimes, prostitution, and drugs.
- DirectorRoberto SantosStarsGianfrancesco GuarnieriMyriam PérsiaVera GertelOn the day of his wedding, young man from a family of immigrants faces some problems to get the money needed for the last arrangements. The family do what they can in order to honour the great event, selling personal belongings and buying enough supplies for a decent party.
- DirectorEduardo CoutinhoStarsFernando JoséThe daily lives and routine of 37 families living in a huge 12-story building in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro: their drama, aspirations, intimate revelations, loneliness, dreams...
- DirectorLeon HirszmanStarsOthon BastosIsabel RibeiroNildo ParenteThe story of Paulo Honório, a poor kid who becomes a rich farmer. Obsessed by his desire to get even richer, he doesn't pay much attention to his wife, Madalena, a teacher who reacts against his tyrannical ways.
- DirectorAndrea TonacciThe documentary, using re-enactments, traces the steps of an indigenous man from a small Amazon tribe, who may be the sole survivor of a 1970s era massacre.
- DirectorArnaldo JaborStarsFernanda MontenegroPaulo GracindoMaria SílviaMiddle-class family reform their apartment, and the noise, the contact with the workers and strange occurrences turn what was supposed to be a trivial matter into a trip to hell.
- DirectorRogério SganzerlaStarsHelena IgnezJô SoaresStênio GarciaÂngela Carne e Osso (Angela Meat and Bone), a young nymphomaniac, lives surrounded by delinquents, and exerts intense allure on them, dominating them all with her erotic power.
- DirectorHector BabencoStarsWilliam HurtRaul JuliaSonia BragaA gay man and a political prisoner are together in a prison. The gay man narrates the stories of two fake movies and his own life.
- DirectorHumberto MauroStarsNita NeyLuís SoroaMáximo SerranoIn Rio de Janeiro, the wasteful Luis Soares is deserted by his father and has no money. Meanwhile, the sugarcane plant owner Mr. Carlos Silva decides to fire the manager of the plant, Pedro Bento, and hire a new one. When Luis sees the advertisement in the newspaper, he is interviewed by Mr. Silva and meets his daughter Anita Silva. Mr. Silva hires Luis and he moves to the countryside to work at the plant. Soon Anita and he fall in love with each other, but the vengeful Pedro sends letters to Mr. Silva telling the affair of his daughter with Luis. Mr. Silva decides to move to the big city with Anita to avoid a scandal. On her birthday, Luis travels with his friend Jorge to meet Anita and give a rose to her. Meanwhile Pedro uses dynamite to blow up the funnel of the plant. When Luis returns, he seeks out Pedro. What will happen next?
- DirectorAdalberto KemenyRudolf Rex LustigDocumentary about the city of São Paulo, Brazil, having as model and inspiration the previous Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt (1927).
- DirectorWalter SallesStarsFernanda MontenegroVinícius de OliveiraMarília PêraThe emotive journey of a former schoolteacher who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.
- DirectorEduardo CoutinhoStarsMarília PêraAndrea BeltrãoFernanda TorresFollowing a newspaper ad, ordinary women tell part of their life stories to director Eduardo Coutinho, which are then re-enacted by actresses, blurring the barriers between truth, fiction and interpretation.
- DirectorLeon HirszmanStarsFernanda MontenegroPaulo GracindoIvan CândidoWoman who is obsessed with death wants a first-class burial for herself, and even buys a luxury coffin beforehand.
- DirectorEduardo CoutinhoStarsSonia AbrãoMarcelo AdnetAmaury Jr.The documentary is a selection of images on network television that Coutinho recorded for 24 hours. It was never released in theaters because of issues related to copyright and image.
- DirectorJosé MedinaStarsÁurea de AremarCarlos FerreiraJosé Medina FilhoIn a building site, a worker agonizes, after an accident, and tells his son about the virtues of honest work, but he's not heard. Turned into a vagabond and having mean people as company, the youth decides to get arrested in order to find a solace against winter. When he finally decides to follow his father advice and get himself a job, he falls under the influence of a policeman, under the false accusation of robbery.