Agulha no Palheiro

'Agulha no Palheiro' (translated into English it means 'A Needle in a Haystack') is the first film directed by Alex Viany. His films are quite forgotten now, but 'Agulha no Palheiro' was a forerunner of the 'Cinema Novo', a movement that would change radically the Brazilian cinema. Most of the Brazilians films (with some notable exceptions) that played in the Brazilian movie theaters at the time were light comedies (mostly musical) or melodramas.

'Agulha no Palheiro' was one of the forerunners of the 'Cinema Novo'. The 'Cinema Novo' proposed to make films that were a reflection on reality – films should make people think about their life and the ways to change it. The 'Cinema Novo' was deeply influenced by the Italian neorealism.

In 'Agulha no Palheiro' we can feel the neorealist influence. The story may be traditional, mixing comedy, a bit of drama and musical numbers, but it is skillfully told and the outdoor scenes are filmed in the streets, so we see glimpses of Rio's downtown, Copacabana etc.. 'Agulha no Palheiro' shows the simple people, their lives, joys and worries and does it in an entertaining way. Here goes a sketch of the story (without spoilers).

A girl from a little town, Mariana (Fada Santoro) goes to Rio de Janeiro looking for her 'fiancee'. He had said that his name was Jose da Silva (a very common name in Brazil) and gave her an address (that doesn't exist). Mariana starts a desperate search to find her missing fiancée, and she's helped on this by a friendly family…

'Agulha no Palheiro' was made in 1953, the story and the acting may reflect the time, but the film feels real, and it offers us a slice of life in Rio de Janeiro in the early 50s.

The simple and naive country girl Mariana (Fada Santoro) arrives in Rio de Janeiro from Minas Gerais trying to find her fiancé, José da Silva (Hélio Souto), with his picture only, and without his phone number or address. She is lodged and welcomed by her simple lower middle class relatives, and sooner they are informed that Mariana is pregnant. The family decides to help her to find José da Silva: her aunt, the kind hearted housewife D. Gisa (Sara Nobre): her cousins, the bus driver Baiano (Jackson de Souza) and the aspirant radio singer Elisa (Dóris Monteiro); the family's friend, the street-car driver Eduardo; and their neighbor composer, all of them join Mariana in her almost impossible quest, equivalent to find a needle in a haystack. When the shy Eduardo and the simple Mariana fall in love for each other, José da Silva is finally found. But the winding road of love keeps them together.

"Agulha no Palheiro" is a good melodrama, with a narrative different from the traditional Brazilian "chanchadas" of that period. The director Alex Viany was originally influenced by the German cinema, mostly by the German Expressionism through the Communist Party, and in this particular film he was very influenced by the Italian Neo-Realism. This movie uses professional actors and actresses and also non-actors or actresses, like, for example, Dória Monteiro, who has an amazing and very natural performance in the role of Elisa. There is a preoccupation of integrating the insertion of the musical presentations with the story, on the contrary of the traditional "chanchadas", where any situation was a motive for a musical presentation. Further, this movie uses many locations, and shows where the places are physically located, presenting the big picture. Maybe the romance of Mariana and Eduardo is dated in 2006, but anyway this movie is still better than most of the present romantic-comedies of Hollywood and much related to our culture. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Agulha no Palheiro" ("Needle in a Haystack")