Madame Satã

"Madame Sata" is a movie that depicts a bygone era. This colorful film directed by Karim Ainouz concentrates on the life of a charismatic man who lived an interesting life. We are taken to the Rio of the 1930s to witness the night life that flourished in the bohemian Lapa neighborhood, with its many dives and night clubs where all kinds of people mixed together.

This is the story of Joao, a poor black man who is a homosexual living in a macho dominated society. The film opens as Joao is being processed because of a crime he committed. We watch his face in a close-up where an off camera voice is reading what he did, and then we are taken back to watch his life in flashbacks.

Joao, who is an assistant to a French third rate chanteuse, is seen backstage imitating the singer in his own way, which is much better than what that tired woman does on stage. Joao lives in a household that includes Laurita, a friendly prostitute, and Tabu, a gay man who loves dressing as a woman, even for house work.

This was the era where the movies glorify those larger than life women who inspired gays all over the world to imitate them. Joao feels the attraction and after losing Renatinho, he asks the friendly Amador, who owns a bar in the Lapa district to give him a chance to perform in the style of the great divas of the era. The result is an instant success because of the innate talent in Joao. Alas, tragedy strikes when a loud mouth drunk begins to insult Joao, who decides to take matters into his own hand with dire consequences. In real life, Joao was in and out of prisons all his life.

Lazaro Ramos does a fantastic job portraying this complex man who was ahead of his time. Mr. Ramos is the best excuse for watching this Brazilian film that shows that seedy side of a society condemned to live in poverty and need. Marcelia Cartaxo plays Laurita, a true friend, who stuck by Joao no matter how bad things got. Flavioi Bauraqui is another asset in the film appearing as Tabu, the other member of Joao's household. Fellipe Marques is perfect as Renatinho, the man who loved Joao.

"Madame Sata" offers a nostalgic look at the life in Rio during the 30s and it's based on the true story of the man who was made famous for his originality and contribution to a society that tried to keep him away from mixing with them. This is a great directing job by Karim Ainouz, who with the writer, Marcelo Gomes, takes the viewer to a magical ride to the exotic life of that long gone Brazil.

When I was a boy, Madame Satã was a legend in Rio de Janeiro. João Francisco dos Santos was born in the turn of the century, and was famous for being a very controversial person: homosexual, black, poor, artist, a very violent and excellent fighter and a symbol of Lapa, where he lived. This movie is the dramatization of the ten years before the creation by João Francisco dos Santos of the character Madame Satã, inspired in the 1930 Cecil B. DeMille's Madam Satan (unfortunately, this movie has not been released in Brazil and I have never had the chance to see it). 'Madame Satã' is another great example of the marvelous moment of the Brazilian Cinema. The direction is very precise, using old parts in the city of Rio de Janeiro specially in Lapa and Santa Teresa and a high level photography to recreate life in the 30's in Old Rio. The cast is fantastic, highlighting the performance of the stunning Lázaro Ramos, who is also the leader actor of the excellent and very recommended 'O Homem Que Copiava'. The story, as I previously mentioned, is limited to a short period before the raise of Madame Satã to the scenario of Rio de Janeiro and is very realistic, inclusive showing the homosexual activity of João Francisco. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): 'Madame Satã'

I found this movie mesmerizing, both due to the lead performance and the depiction of a time and place previously unfamiliar to me. A previous user comment said that Jaoa is heterosexual and that Lorita's baby is his. Just for clarification, he is not, and neither is the baby. I don't know how accurate this bio-pic really is in portraying the life of Jaoa Francisco vos Santos. But the character is a perplexing and complex mixture of violence and tenderness, talent and self-destruction. Clearly a victim of internalized homophobia and brutal class hierarchy, Jaoa knows he is destined for greatness, but can't keep his underlying rage from exploding all over everyone, friend and foe. It's dog eat dog in the slums of Rio, but Jaoa creates a family with a female prostitute named Lorita, her baby(on whom Jaoa dotes sweetly), and the greatly put-upon and abused servant, Tabu. Jaoa takes one step forward, then two steps back--straight in to prison, over and over. The real Jaoa Francisco vos Santos was a highly celebrated female impersonator and lived to the ripe old age of 76, despite an extremely punishing existence. I think the film reveals naked humanity, sometimes the viewer is horrified but can't stop peering into the wreckage.

Madame Sata is one of the most colorful, agitating, controversial, shifting, restless, erratic films you could ever watch on silver screen. The protagonist is also the antagonist with his often irrational and aggressive behaviour, possibly a trademark of Joao Francisco himself on which the film is based on, although this could be one of the film's flaws. The characters are as lively and colorful as he is and the acting is quite well, too.



An activist and a pioneer in many ways in the Brasil of 1930's, he could be seen as a gay activist, a transvestite activist, a swinger activist, a one-man-show pioneer, a strong, willful, self-confident and proud individual who defies almost all possible rules, regulations and conventions of his time, and not because he wants to be standing out.



Although the story line and Francisco's character are quite fanciful and interesting, the dialogues seem to be pretentious, the character build-up insufficient and the editing quite confusing, causing the overall feel to be incomplete and puzzling.

Opinions vary widely about the merits of this impressionistic real-life portrait of a colorful Brazilian 30's and 40's character. And it's easy to see why.

Depicted in a deliberately disjointed narrative, we experience various glimpses of Senor Santos' life, mainly his mid-period, prior to a ten-year prison conviction.

And while there are copious close-ups of the hot-tempered antihero and associates, we're not given much in the way of either a source of his rage or a greater context of his character development.

We're left to assume he's a complex personality, bitter about his lack of material goods, social standing, and education. But it's only a guess, for he or no one else really expresses cause--so we're left only with effect.

However, we're rewarded by a mesmerizing lead performance and strong work by the entire cast.

Presented as one of the jewels of film series in the northeast, called the Cinematheque, located in Cleveland, Ohio, attendees continue to be blessed by rare opportunities to view the best in international cinema.