Bye Bye Brasil

SYNOPSIS: A small band of circus performers drift through the hinterlands of 1970s Brazil looking for opportunity and freedom.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Escaping your everyday life and throwing caution to the wind to chase your dreams. Only to find out that your dreams aren't what you thought and that there is a big difference between lust and love.

PROS AND CONS: This is an interesting film on several levels. It shows a part of the world that is quickly disappearing. The idea that you can run off into undeveloped country and live off your wits and the kindness / stupidity of others is quickly fading in modern society. That wasn't the case in 1970s Brazil where the vast interior was full or opportunity and little else.

In this film a young man and his pregnant wife flee the poverty of rural Brazil to join the CARNIVAL ROLIDEI, a rag-tag group consisting of a charismatic con man, his dancer / prostitute girlfriend and a mute strong-man. They travel the dirt roads of Brazil, seeking peasants that are easily entertained by their simple tricks and lusty burlesque shows. Along the way, the young man and his wife come to question their fidelity and their expectations about life and one another.

The film is shot on location and the performances are very good. There is a surreal quality to the imagery that owes a tip of the hat to Federico Fellini. There is also something about the Porteguese language that is very lyrical, especially the title song that is heard throughout the film and over the end credits.

The underlying message is that freedom is not an easy thing to find. Escaping from the trappings of modern society, escaping from the trappings of your own lifestyle and the escape from the ones you love is almost impossible. None of these characters wants to be tied down, but they are tied to the desires that are at their core. They all learn from each other in the end.

This film reminds me why I have the desire to take off and see new lands where I have never been and be amazed at the unknown that I have never seen, and why in the end, I always return to my home, where I feel safe.

It is a precious gem. The story of the Caravana Rolidei, a group of poor traveling circus performers, is as fresh today as the first time I saw it. The caravan travels in the Brazilian countryside in a time where television is taking over and making all other sorts of entertainment obsolete. Very touching, very Brazilian, very easy to find in your video store.

I first saw this film around 1985, when it was still new, and before I started studying and visiting Brazil seriously. I did not remember much at all, probably because I did not understand the significance of what I was seeing. Now, after four visits to Brazil (mostly Amazon and Northeast), it makes a lot more sense, and I will be recommending it to students.

The movie was made near the end of the (1964-85) military period, when political discourse was possible but still needed to be done cautiously. So the film addresses serious concerns about the government's programs to encourage migration, but it does so with humor and finesse.

It is a brilliant film, and gives some insight to the ongoing suffering of the sertao, the cultural context of forro, the folly of development in Brasilia, and the drivers of deforestation in the Amazon.

More than a discussion on which are the best Brazilian films ever, "Bye-bye Brazil" is certainly one of the most important films made in Brazil. It is a deep sink in Brazilian soul and a portrait of serious changes in Brazilian society in late 70's. Modern vs traditional, pride vs vulnerability, love vs need, arts vs market, big town vs deep country, it is a very layered and encompassing film, abroad movie far from formulae and fancy, a must see for everyone who are interested in understanding and knowing Brazil.

At last, a film I can unreservedly recommend--well, at least to adults.

"Bye Bye Brazil" is a film with heart, involving three-dimensional characters I was able to care about, their stories told unpretentiously in a straightforward exposition unhindered by self-conscious special effects, confusing games with the time-frame, etc. as in so many "artistic" films I've been watching lately (and in some cases ejecting from the player before they're finished).

Too bad this film is from 1979. I wish it were brand new, so I could hope for a return to these plain and honest values in film-making.

As soon as I saw that the title song was sung by Chico Buarque, one of my very favorite musicians, I suspected I was in for a pleasant evening, and I wasn't disappointed. The movie would be worth buying (apparently available on VHS only) just for that wonderful song, sung in its lengthy entirety over the closing credits, and briefly at the film's commencement. But "Bye Bye Brazil" offers much more than a pretty (and very funny) song. Time and again I was reminded of Bergman's films, as the interplay between the five chief characters developed. There's a certain visual resemblance to some of Bergman's scenes, too.

You could have a worse model.

Highly recommended--though not for kids.