Tieta do Agreste

Jorge Amado shows us a common trait in Brazilian psyche. The strong influence of that lush country in its inhabitants. Actress Sonia Braga (born 1950) is a perfect choice; she still represents that role in "Dona Clara" (2016) "Dona Flor e os seus maridos" (1976),"Gabriela,cravo e Canela" (1983) "Tieta do Agreste" aka "Tieta do Brasil" (1996) Nature-based freedom and sensuality stem from the main character; who seems to be a creature born from the wilderness and whose barely tamed natural instincts clash with a social façade. A civilized pose shown as hypocrite, unable to resist its own nature. "A luz de Tieta" is the ideal song by Caetano Veloso that denounces that hypocrisy in a quick rhythm, like a stream that washes away that makeup in an ectasy of joy and freedom.

Read the novel. Watch the movie. Note the world of difference. I don't care how gorgeous Sonia Braga looks, this movie isn't even the ghost of the novel on which it was based. One of the most disappointing adaptations of a fine piece of literature since Kon Ichikawa's "Enjo".

After more than 25 years in the big city of Sao Paulo, Tieta (played nicely by Sonia Braga) is coming back to her native village, Sant'Ana do Agreste. Nothing has changed. It seems the time has stop. But in the little while that she spent there, a lot will change! It's a movie about the subject of: love, lust, power, religion and even politics! No, Sant'Ana do Agreste will never be the same... Tieta even brought in the electricity!

Out of 100, I gave it 74. That's good for **½ on a **** stars rating system.

Seen at home, in Welland, on January 28th, 2002.

Just as this plot portrays a big city person from San Paulo, revisiting her native small town in the brazilian Nordeste, Tornatore's character in "Star Maker" is a person from Rome visiting rural villages in Sicily. The small village dynamics are not the same as in a big city.

She's a woman who has been neglected by her family. Making some mistakes in her youth made her leave home and search a new life on her own. Later on, back in the town she was born, she finds the chance of having again her family love and though it seems to be too late, they show her it'll never be. The magic, rhythm and colur of this film is outstanding. Sonia Braga is amazing in this performance and the characters of the story are really appealing. Definitely a must-see movie.