Another theme film of the fourth and final class on Cinema Novo that I watched was Macunaíma. In fact, I had watched it a couple of times before. Directed by Joaquim Pedro de Andrade based on the book of the same name by Mário de Andrade.
In the cast, Paulo José (mother of Macunaíma and Macunaíma white), Grande Otelo (Macunaíma black and son of Macunaíma white), Milton Gonçalves (Jiguê), Rodolfo Arena (Maanape), Dina Sfat (Ci), Joana Fonn (Sofara), Jardel Filho (Venceslau Pietro Pietra), among others.
Macunaíma, defined by his brother at birth as a national hero, after his mother's death leaves a tapera where he lived in the middle of the forest for the big city with Jiguê and Maanape, his brothers. Halfway there, he enters a spring of water and transforms into a white man. In the urban center, he meets Ci, a guerrilla who fights against the regime and falls in love with her, living at her expense, because he didn't like to work. In the end, he returns to the same tapera where he used to live, but is abandoned by his brothers because he continues to lie and not work. Finally, he has a meeting with Iara, the mother of the waters.
The film has a strong dialogue with Modernism, after all it is an adaptation of an iconic book of the movement, as well as with Tropicalismo, a movement that was born in the late 1960s, early 1970s.
The affirmation of a national culture, the strong use of colors and landscapes that praise Brazil are a constant in the film. Because it is inserted in a period when the military dictatorship was intensifying in the country, there are visual references to the period, such as police patrolling the streets of the big city and the presence of a guerrilla, who fought against the installed regime. The speech in the public square also indicates the political situation that Brazil was going through.
The anthropophagy launched by Brazilian Modernism is shown in the film in a surreal scene of the wedding of Venceslau's daughter, filmed in Parque Lage (Rio de Janeiro), with a pool full of blood and torn bodies, with their guts out, where, after a draw, the guests were thrown into the water and eaten by a being that does not appear.
Although I like the film, the clown tone of the characters bothers me a little (I have to say here that I have a trauma with clowns), as well as the exaggeration of acting in some scenes (Macunaíma's shrill cry when he is born or when he is contradicted, as a child, it is very annoying). Venceslau Pietro Pietra's characterization is purposely exaggerated, leaving Jardel Filho unrecognizable.
Criticism of racism (the transformation of Macunaíma from black to white when he goes to the city), to the conservatism of part of society, precisely the one that supported the military regime (speech in the square interrupted by Macunaíma), to corruption (Venceslau is a corrupt businessman) are present in the script.
The final scene, with a green garment in the water being invaded by the red blood of Macunaíma is a very strong allegory to the military regime, which tortured and killed the regime's opponents.
All in all, a good movie, a classic of Brazilian cinema.
In the cast, Paulo José (mother of Macunaíma and Macunaíma white), Grande Otelo (Macunaíma black and son of Macunaíma white), Milton Gonçalves (Jiguê), Rodolfo Arena (Maanape), Dina Sfat (Ci), Joana Fonn (Sofara), Jardel Filho (Venceslau Pietro Pietra), among others.
Macunaíma, defined by his brother at birth as a national hero, after his mother's death leaves a tapera where he lived in the middle of the forest for the big city with Jiguê and Maanape, his brothers. Halfway there, he enters a spring of water and transforms into a white man. In the urban center, he meets Ci, a guerrilla who fights against the regime and falls in love with her, living at her expense, because he didn't like to work. In the end, he returns to the same tapera where he used to live, but is abandoned by his brothers because he continues to lie and not work. Finally, he has a meeting with Iara, the mother of the waters.
The film has a strong dialogue with Modernism, after all it is an adaptation of an iconic book of the movement, as well as with Tropicalismo, a movement that was born in the late 1960s, early 1970s.
The affirmation of a national culture, the strong use of colors and landscapes that praise Brazil are a constant in the film. Because it is inserted in a period when the military dictatorship was intensifying in the country, there are visual references to the period, such as police patrolling the streets of the big city and the presence of a guerrilla, who fought against the installed regime. The speech in the public square also indicates the political situation that Brazil was going through.
The anthropophagy launched by Brazilian Modernism is shown in the film in a surreal scene of the wedding of Venceslau's daughter, filmed in Parque Lage (Rio de Janeiro), with a pool full of blood and torn bodies, with their guts out, where, after a draw, the guests were thrown into the water and eaten by a being that does not appear.
Although I like the film, the clown tone of the characters bothers me a little (I have to say here that I have a trauma with clowns), as well as the exaggeration of acting in some scenes (Macunaíma's shrill cry when he is born or when he is contradicted, as a child, it is very annoying). Venceslau Pietro Pietra's characterization is purposely exaggerated, leaving Jardel Filho unrecognizable.
Criticism of racism (the transformation of Macunaíma from black to white when he goes to the city), to the conservatism of part of society, precisely the one that supported the military regime (speech in the square interrupted by Macunaíma), to corruption (Venceslau is a corrupt businessman) are present in the script.
The final scene, with a green garment in the water being invaded by the red blood of Macunaíma is a very strong allegory to the military regime, which tortured and killed the regime's opponents.
All in all, a good movie, a classic of Brazilian cinema.