Cabra Marcado Para Morrer

In 1962, in the country city of Sapé, Paraíba, the peasant leader João Pedro Teixeira is executed by those affected by his attempt of organizing the explored men of the field. In 1964, the CPC of UNE (a group of the students) and the Movimento de Cultura Popular de Pernambuco decide to make a movie about the life and death of João Pedro. On 26 February 1964, begins the shootings in Engenho Galiléa, Pernambuco, with the wife of João Pedro, Elizabeth Teixeira, performing the role of herself. Thirty-five days later, on April 1st 1964 – the day of the military coup-d'état and beginning of the military dictatorship, the location is invaded by the Brazilian Army, searching for subversives and Cubans and arresting the local leaders and crew-members. Seventeen years later, director Eduardo Coutinho returns to the location, and interview the survivors, looking for the members of Teixeira's family, shattered by the former regime.

"Cabra Marcado Para Morrer"is an amazing awarded Brazilian documentary, with impressive testimony of a political period of the shadows of our contemporary history. Although living presently in a democracy, it is sad to see that the same problems in the field remains unchangeable in the present days, or maybe worse than in those period. Even with a president former worker originated from the lower classes, the problem in the country remains unresolved. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Cabra Marcado Para Morrer" ("Dude Marked to Die")

Brazil is more than Rio and the rainforest. Sometimes I wish it wasn't, like when I watch this movie. In the early 60s, farm workers in Pernambuco organized themselves against labor exploitaition. Some people tried to make a movie about it. But when the military dictatorship came, they have all been arrested. The movie was banned, people arrested, equipment taken, and the leader of the workers was murdered. In 1985, the original movie crew went back to the place and found the people, interviewing them to find out what happened through all these horror years.

This acclaimed documentary made by Eduardo Coutinho is filled of good intentions also well-done having the respected by the international press and so on, what was meant to be a movie about an deadly ambushed against a rural work's leader João Pedro Teixeira in April 1962 who helped founded a rural syndicate at small village called Sapé in Paraiba state in Brazilian northeast one most poorest place in our country due the extensive drought that ravages such dry place, after that a local enquiry took place finding two policemen as perpetrated of the crime and also the mastermind who was a powerful landowner.

Coutinho had a plan to recount the whole story with all originals rural workers using the João Pedro's widow Elizabeth and their children, just replace João Pedro already dead for an actor, the idea was use the same place where everything come to pass in Sapé, however another clash between both sides ends up in a slaughter, then Eduardo Coutinho moved the whole crew to Galiléia in nearby state Pernambuco, after they barely begun the shooting in April 1964 broke up the military government who overthrew the civil regime.

After that the Paraiba's Army stepped in the rural syndicate and arrested all members including the widow Elizabeth, the filmmaker Coutinho and crew slipped away left behind all shooting equipment even the original screenplay and notes, who recover later, many of syndicate members were hardly tortured by Paraiba's authorities, some have fulfilled eight years in prison, afterwards all policemen were acquitted unanimous and the mastermind got a chair in chambers of deputies after four of them had resigned, even the instigator has been the fourth standby, unbelievable.

Just in 1981 Coutinho starts all over again, nonetheless now as documentary after the amnesty law took affect in 1979 and the opening of democratic rights, he had interviewed all remainders of those era, sadly Coutinho found another scenery, the country changes a lot, the labor law already had reach in those camps, apart the struggles of the rural workers, sadly the whole family of the old widow Elizabeth had paid a high price, all the eight brothers split all around the country, even to Cuba, they stayed adrift moving all time, each one for yourself, today they weren't connected anymore, perhaps a quick appointment if so.

Thanks for reading.

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First watch: 2022 / Source: DVD / How many: 1 / Rating: 8.

A very fine and poignant documentary. Rarely does one see such brutally honest self-criticism in a film. No doubt, one of the best Brazilian documentaries.

This is the best documentary I'd ever seen. Show in a carnal way how the press work to a government, and how the paranoid take care of it, with barbarous consequences. An unique movie, with a dramatic self-history, that is the dramatic self history of a country and all a continent. Art in pure state.