2023-09-03 02:20:00
Currently, national audiovisual productions have gained greater recognition among the Brazilian public. However, national cinema still faces challenges in terms of wide dissemination in the country and generates little interest in most people.
However, despite facing a series of difficulties throughout its existence and formation, Brazilian audiovisual is quite rich, diversified and has a lot of back story to tell.
In view of this, we decided to present the 10 best Brazilian films, according to a list prepared by the Brazilian Association of Film Critics (ABRACCINE), entitled “The 100 Best Brazilian Films“. This list included the participation of the main film critics in Brazil.
Below are the top 10 rankings.
top 10 national movies
Macunaíma (1969)
Image from the movie “Macunaíma” (1969) / Credit: Difilm, Condor Filmes, Embrafilme (disclosure)
Joaquim Pedro de Andrade directed “Macunaíma”, an adaptation of the homonymous novel by Mário de Andrade. The film is a surrealist comedy filled with symbolism of Brazilian culture and social criticism.
The production features important names in Brazilian cinema and television, such as Grande Otelo, Paulo José, Dina Sfat, Milton Gonçalves, Jardel Filho, Rodolfo Arena, Joana Fomm, Wilza Carla, Hugo Carvana and Zezé Macedo.
Available on GloboPlay.
Read too:
The Payer of Promises (1962)
Image from the film “O Pagador de Promessas” (1962) / Credit: Cinedistri (disclosure)
Anselmo Duarte directs the adaptation of the homonymous play written by Dias Gomes, which in turn was inspired by a true story, “O Pagador de Promessas” won the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1962.
In the story, a simple man (Leonardo Villar) makes a promise to Santa Bárbara in a Candomblé yard to save his sick donkey. When the donkey recovers, he fulfills his promise by carrying a cross to the church of Santa Bárbara in São Paulo. However, when he gets there, the priest (Dionísio Azevedo) refuses to receive him when he learns the details.
The film is available for free on the Itaú Cultural Play platform. It is also available on GloboPlay.
City of God (2002)
Image from the movie “City of God” (2002) / Credit: O2 Filmes, Globo Filmes, Lumière Brasil (disclosure)
This is certainly one of the most popular national movies and probably one of the few that most people watched on this list. Under the direction of Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, the feature was very successful inside and outside Brazil. The production received four Oscar nominations in 2004.
The film has a pop aesthetic influenced by American police and crime films, a dynamic montage and uses real locations and non-professional actors living in humble communities in Rio de Janeiro.
Available to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+ subscribers.
São Paulo, Limited Company (1965)
Image from the film “São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima” (1965) / Credit: Columbia Pictures, Socine Produções Cinematográficas (publicity)
Directed by Luís Sérgio Person, “São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima” explores themes such as alienation, disillusionment, emptiness, anguish and lack of perspective in automated and mechanical life in a large metropolis.
The film is an urban drama that portrays the life of an executive (Walmor Chagas) of a large company in São Paulo who feels alienated and dissatisfied with the upper-middle-class life he leads.
Available for Looke and GloboPlay subscribers.
The Red Light Bandit (1968)
Image from the movie “O Bandido da Luz Vermelha” (1968) / Credit: Urano Filmes (disclosure)
This film by Rogério Sganzerla is considered one of the landmarks of marginal cinema, a cinematographic movement that represented a rupture with Cinema Novo, adopting a more experimental, abstract and fragmented approach.
Inspired by real events involving the criminal known as “The Bandit of the Red Light”, the film mixes elements of American genre cinema, such as police and noir, with a rigidly experimental style, marked by visual deconstructions and the abandonment of conventional narrative. .
Available to Mubi subscribers. It is also available for free on the Itaú Cultural Play platform.
Land in a Trance (1967)
Image from the movie “Terra em Transe” (1967) / Credit: Mapa Filmes (disclosure)
“Terra em Transe” is one of the most emblematic works of Cinema Novo, a cinematographic movement that sought to portray the social, political and cultural reality of Brazil with a critical and innovative perspective.
Aesthetically articulated in a poetic and dialectical way, Glauber Rocha’s film is a relentless sociopolitical allegory of Brazil in that period. The film takes place in a fictional country in Latin America and follows the journey of an intellectual and poet (played by Jardel Filho) who becomes involved in political intrigue and power play.
Available for Mubi and GloboPlay subscribers.
Goat Marked for Death (1984)
Image from the movie “Cabra Marcado para Morrer” (1984) / Credit: Mapa Filmes (disclosure)
“Cabra Marcado para Morrer”, acclaimed documentary directed by Eduardo Coutinho, stands out not only for its excellence, but also for its unique production history.
In 1962, João Pedro Teixeira, leader of the peasant league of Sapé, Paraíba, is assassinated under the orders of landowners.
Coutinho starts shooting a film about his life in 1964, involving the fictional recreation of the political events that culminated in his death, with Teixeira’s widow playing her own role. However, production was stopped due to the military coup.
Seventeen years later, in 1981, Coutinho resumed the project in the form of a documentary, looking for Elizabeth Teixeira and others involved in the interrupted film.
Available to Belas Artes à La Carte subscribers.
Dry Lives (1963)
Image from the series “Vidas Secas” (1963) / Credit: Herbert Richers, Sinofilmes (disclosure)
One of the landmarks of cinema novo, “Vidas Secas” is directed by Nelson Pereira dos Santos and based on the homonymous literary work by Graciliano Ramos.
With a raw and realistic treatment of the lives of the characters and the drought in the hinterland, the film presents the image of misery in an impactful and overwhelming way.
The plot takes place in the northeastern hinterland and shows a family and their dog who live in precarious conditions and face the adversities of drought, hunger and exploitation by landowners.
Available on GloboPlay.
God and the Devil in the Land of the Sun (1964)
Image from the movie “God and the Devil in the Land of the Sun” (1964) / Credit: Copacabana Filmes (disclosure)
Another film by Glauber Rocha on the list, the classic “Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol” is one of the most recognized and influential examples of “Cinema Novo”.
The film is set in the northeastern sertão and addresses social issues such as class struggle, religion, drought and violence. and politics, in a poetic aesthetic full of symbolism.
The film is available for free on the Itaú Cultural Play platform.
Limit (1931)
Image from the series “Limite” (1931) / Credit: Cinédia (disclosure)
The greatest film of all time, according to Abraccine, was misunderstood at the time it was released, due to its experimental approach, non-linear narrative and visual abstraction.
Directed by Mário Peixoto, “Limite” is a silent film with an enigmatic plot. The plot oscillates between three characters who are trapped in a boat adrift on the high seas, intertwining with sequences of memories, dreams and visions.
Available to Belas Artes à La Carte subscribers. You can watch the movie for free on Libreflix.
Have you watched the new videos on YouTube of the Digital Look? Subscribe to the channel!
#Brazilian #films #critics