UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Brazilian
Literature and Culture: Seminar and Film Series
Backlands in Brazilian Cinema: from Cinema
Novo to the Present Day
To be held at the Centre for Brazilian Studies, 92,
Woodstock Rd, Oxford
The events are free of charge however registration
is required at enquiries@brazil.ox.ac.uk or (01865)
284460
Monday
13 February 5p.m.
Seminar
: Professor Lúcia Nagib, Professor of World
Cinemas, University of Leeds
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‘Backlands,
Sea and Utopia in Brazilian Cinema’
(illustrated
talk – to be followed by series of films: ‘Backlands
in Brazilian cinema: from Cinema Novo to the present day’
(20 February, 27 February, 6 March)
Monday
20 February 5 p.m.
Film
Series: ‘Backlands in Brazilian cinema: from Cinema
Novo to the present day’
‘Deus
e o diabo na terra do sol’, Glauber Rocha (1964).
English subtitles
Monday 27 February 5 p.m.
Film
Series: ‘Backlands in Brazilian cinema: from Cinema
Novo to the present day’
‘Baile
perfumado’, Paulo Caldas e Lírio Ferreira (1997).
English subtitles
Monday
6 March 5 p.m.
Film
Series: ‘Backlands in Brazilian cinema: from Cinema
Novo to the present day’
‘Abril
Despedaçado’ (Behind the Sun), Walter Salles
(2001). English subtitles
Synopsis
Deus
e O Diabo Na Terra Do Sol
(Black God, White Devil)
1964
Running Time: 125 minutes
Starring: Geraldo Del Rey, Othon Bastos, Maurício
do Vale, Yona Magalhães, Lídio Silva
Directed by Glauber Rocha and Walter Lima Jr.
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Review
by Kristie Hassen
Glauber
Rocha's masterpiece which became one of the landmarks of
modern Brazilian cinema.
Just twenty five years old, Brazilian cinema novo force
Glauber Rocha wrote and directed this impressive feature
addressing socio-political problems within his country--and
indeed, anywhere it may apply. It is the 1940s, during another
drought in the Brazilian sertão, when ranch hand
Manuel is fed up with his situation. His boss tries to cheat
him of his earnings and Manuel kills him, fleeing with his
wife, Rosa. Now an outlaw, Manuel joins up with a self-proclaimed
saint who condones violence and preaches disturbing doctrines.
It is now Rosa who turns to killing and the two are on the
move once again. And so it goes, the two running from one
allegience to another, following the words of others as
they attempt to find a place in their ruthless land. Blending
mysticism, religion, and popular culture in this symbolic
and realistic drama, Rocha insists that rather than follow
the external and obscure dogmas of culture and religion,
man must determine his path by his own voice.
Source:
New York Times, All Movie Guide
Baile Perfumado (Perfumed Ball)
1997
Running Time: 93 minutes
Starring: Duda Mamberti, Luís Carlos Vasconcelos,
Aramis Trindade, Chico Diaz, Jofre Soares, Cláudio
Mamberti, Germano Hauiut, Giovana Gold
Directed by Paulo Caldas e Lírio Ferreira
Review
by Sandra Brennan
Every country seems to have its own gallery of criminal
legends, those outlaws, highwaymen, gangsters and defiant
rogues who capture the public's imaginations and whose exploits
become legends. In Brazil, there are the infamous cangacieros
of the 1930s. These notorious bandits and desperadoes terrorized
the northeastern part of the country for many years. Lampiao
was the most notorious bandit king and his bloody deeds
led the Brazilian government to launch a massive military
search for him. Search as they might, the armies could not
catch up with the wily crook and his band. But where they
failed, a humble documentary maker from Lebanon named Benjamin
Abrahao succeeded. Not only was he admitted to Lampiao's
secret camp where he documented the robbers' daily life;
he also managed to film them in action. Abrahao's invaluable
footage is still used in films about the cangacieros. This
fascinating and sometimes very violent drama recreates Abrahao's
experiences with the bandit culture. It also chronicles
the determined filmmaker's tragic fate after his film was
released. Despite the downbeat ending, the story is ultimately
an uplifting account of a determined social outcast who
defied the odds and proved himself a true hero. Some of
the "archival footage" used in this film is brilliantly
faked.
Source:
The New York Times, All Movie Guide
Abril Despedaçado (Behind the Sun)
2001
Running Time: 105 minutes
Starring: José Dumont, Luis Carlos Vasconcelos, Rodrigo
Santoro, Ravi Ramos Lacerda, Rita Assemany
Directed by Walter Salles
Review by A. O. Scott
Based
on a novel by the Albanian writer Ismail Kadare, Walter
Salles's "Behind the Sun" visits a corner of the
world — rural Brazil in 1910 — governed by a
harsh code of honor and retribution. Two families, feuding
over land, kill each other off one by one. We witness this
cruel way of life through the eyes of a young child whose
beloved older brother awaits his fate, having killed a member
of the rival clan. The harshness is leavened by the arrival
of a pair of traveling circus performers, who import a touch
of Felliniesque sweetness into the tragic atmosphere. Tragedy
wins in the end, but so does Mr. Salles's passionate, romantic
humanism.
Source:
The New York Times
Centre for Brazilian Studies
92 Woodstock Road
Oxford
OX2 7ND
www.brazil.ox.ac.uk
Tel: 44 (0) 1865 284460
Fax: 44 (0) 1865 284461
Email: enquiries@brazil.ox.ac.uk
