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Caingangue (1973)
A portrait of Brazil's Western frontier
Often violent, mostly poetic, Caingangue is a touchstone in Brazilian filmography. It has the bitter feeling of our frontier with Paraguay, where there is no law except gun power. It hasn't changed much till our days, so Caingangue won't shock Brazilians. I was fortunate to know Carlos Hugo Christensen (from Argentina but with a green and yellow heart) and tell him Caingangue was among my favorite movies. He was surprised; he didn't know he had directed a cult classic. Beyond the strong storyline, told by a master of storytelling, I was also impressed by its score, a harsh Paraguayan harp punctuating the cruel massacre of farmers that resisted selling their properties for less than ten percent of the value. Brazilians forgot all about Carlos Hugo Christensen, who adopted this sunny land with no memory.