100 Essential Brazilian Films
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- DirectorMario PeixotoStarsOlga BrenoTatiana ReyRaul SchnoorThree people (Raul Schnoor, Olga Breno and Tatiana Rey) sail aimlessly while remembering their past.
- DirectorLima BarretoStarsAlberto RuschelMarisa PradoMilton Ribeiro'Capitão', a bandit, terrorizes poor villages in the Northeast region of Brazil, looting and frequently killing with his armed gang, until he kidnaps and becomes attracted to a beautiful schoolteacher, creating discord in his group.
- DirectorNelson Pereira dos SantosStarsGrande OteloJece ValadãoMalu MaiaA talented songwriter of sambas is forced to face the social injustices of the city around him.
- DirectorNelson Pereira dos SantosStarsMozart CintraIvan De SouzaLuiz Paulino Dos SantosDespite being promised to another man, a young orphaned woman falls in love with man working at the farm she lives in , and together they escape. According tradition in Northeast Brazil, her aunt goes after them, in order to kill them for revenge.
- 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.
- DirectorGlauber RochaStarsAntonio PitangaLuiza MaranhãoLucy de CarvalhoIn the State of Bahia, Brazil, an educated black man returns to his home fishing village to try and free people from mysticism, in particular the Candomblé religion, which he considers a factor of political and social oppression.
- DirectorRuy GuerraStarsNorma BengellHugo CarvanaLucy de CarvalhoThis film captures the criminal behavior of two young Copacabana thugs (the "cafajestes"). The two plan a blackmail coup against a rich old man, using nude pictures of a lady on a deserted beach. But things don't always happen as planned.
- 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?
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorSérgio RicardoStarsAntonio PitangaLéa BulcãoSérgio RicardoThe film follows two men living in a Rio de Janeiro slum: a black shoe-shiner and a white mill worker.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorFlávio TambelliniStarsReginaldo FariaJorge DóriaNelly MartinsAn architect sees his own life crumble because of an act of compassion: After being run down, a dying man requests a last wish: a French kiss. The architect obliges out of compassion, but people don't understand his gesture, and he soon becomes the talk of the town, and not in a good way.
- DirectorPaulo César SaraceniStarsIsabellaOduvaldo Vianna FilhoSérgio BrittoPassively facing the repression imposed by military dictatorship in Brazil in the 60s, a journalist gets into a personal crisis, aggravated by his love affair with an industrialist's wife, who doesn't want to leave her home because of her son.
- DirectorLeon HirszmanStarsFernanda MontenegroPaulo GracindoIvan CândidoWoman who is obsessed with death wants a first-class burial for herself, and even buys a luxury coffin beforehand.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorJoaquim Pedro de AndradeStarsHelena IgnezPaulo JoséMário LagoIn a small town in Minas Gerais, the arrival of a young priest causes a commotion in the conservative atmosphere of the place, aggravated by the sudden attraction this priest feels for a beautiful girl. This forbidden love affair soon turns into an unbridled passion.
- DirectorOzualdo Ribeiro CandeiasStarsMário BenvenuttiValeria VidalBentinhoAbout people who live by the margins or Rio Tietê, in São Paulo, Brazil.
- DirectorGlauber RochaStarsJardel FilhoPaulo AutranJosé LewgoyIn the fictional Latin American country Eldorado, a poet tries to effect political change by influencing powerful men.
- 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.
- DirectorFlávio TambelliniStarsLara AvanciniVera Barreto LeiteMário BenvenuttiAfter 16 years married, with two children and squandering a life full of luxury and wealth, Danilo Ribeiro (Mário Benvenutti) is tired of living in the shadow of his millionaire father-in-law and his wife Renata (Vera Barreto Leite). The former jurist begins to remember how dreamy and full of plans he was at age 16 and finds himself in a situation of existential conflict, having his lover Denise (Anna Christie) as the only way to ease his drama. While he doesn't even understand what he does in his work as a "genrocrat" and prefers to give up everything, he doesn't want to give up all his wealth and comfort.
- DirectorWalter Hugo KhouriStarsPaulo JoséJacqueline MyrnaLilian LemmertzA young man in his early 30's ponders the state of his life while dealing with three women - his sister, his new girlfriend and his lover.