Films from Brazil

Good preparation for a trip to Brazil can also be to watch touching films from the largest country in South America. Just as the footballers elevate ball control to an art form, the local filmmakers show great virtuosity. Brazilian cinema presents itself with themes that capture and shake us because they depict a world whose problems we in Europe are not familiar with. In Brazilian everyday life, unfortunately often reality, violence, and poverty are also omnipresent in many films. Nevertheless, the works are characterized by something conciliatory, because humor and love usually play a role. It was exactly this cocktail of emotions and social grievances that made "Cidade de Deus" (The City of God) a world success in 2002. The following masterpieces, which every Brazil fan should have seen at least once, show you that Brazil's film landscape has much more to offer.

"Central do Brasil" by director Walter Salles from 1998 is a classic in this country. It not only won the Golden Bear but was also nominated for an Oscar. The film tells the story of Dora (Fernanda Montenegro), who has been writing letters for illiterate people since she retired at the central train station in Rio de Janeiro. In front of her small table, the destinies of different lives take place in fast motion every day. Strangers open their hearts and souls to her. But what most people don't know is that Dora has become bitter over the years and often doesn't send the letters. Until one day one of her customers dies in a bus accident in front of her eyes and she takes care of her orphaned son Josue (Vinivius de Oliveira). The nine-year-old boy is looking for his father, who is supposed to live in the north of the country. Sensitive cinema from Brazil, in which two lonely souls embark on a great and uncertain journey across the country. What makes this film a real pearl is the great performance of Fernanda Montenegro, which you will not forget so quickly.

A completely different genre is "A Summer with Mama", which thrilled the audience at the Berlinale and the Sundance Film Festival last year. In this comedy, director Anna Muylaert subtly and very amusingly tells the story of Val (Regina Case), a housekeeper who has worked for many years for a wealthy family in Sao Paulo. Although she is repeatedly told that she has long been part of the family, Val always sticks to the rules she has internalized and accepts the prevailing class relations. So it is completely normal for her to be like a second mother to the son of the house, but not even to be allowed to use the swimming pool. Her daughter Jessica (Camila Mardila), on the other hand, whom she had to leave behind in the faraway province, has not seen Val for ten years. When Jessica comes to visit to apply to university, Val is not only overjoyed but also the strict power structure in the house is shaken to pieces. The film is a satirical examination of the serious situation in Brazil's big cities, where the gap between rich and poor is wide. It gives hope for a change in these fixed class structures.

Other recommended works are:

Onibus 174
Carandiru
Mata Mata - Game of life
O homem que copiava (The man who copied)
Meu nome nao e Johnny (My name is not Johnny)
Birdwatchers - The land of the red people
With this small selection of films, you can bridge your wanderlust until your next Brazil vacation and get an insight into Brazilian everyday life.

Source: Moritz