The grandeur of marginal cinema
"First kill your ego then come with me." - Rogério Sganzerla
One of the angriest movies I've seen. A rage-filled journey shot in CinemaScope, largely in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, it was not released commercially due to censorship. The film is one of the most radical experiments in Brazilian cinema also a milestone of the Cinema Marginal movement which was against the Cinema Novo movement. They rejected mainstream cinema of the time, filmmakers in Marginal movement often sought to make their films no matter what stood in their way with support of Belair cycle together with Júlio Bressane. The biggest enemy for the movement was the censorship - which was a common issue director faced at the time. The storyline revolves around a social micro-cosmos. The characters represent the blueprint of a hate filled society, perpetuated in the form of Sônia Silk (Helena Ignez) who works as a prostitute while trying to become a singer for Rádio Nacional. Her brother Vidimar, a domestic servant and homosexual, falls in love with his boss, Dr. Grilo (Otoniel Serra). Sonia is always in the shadow of the power of her brother's boss. Sônia and Vidimar's mother thinks that both are possessed by the demon. After hearing her mother say that she and her brother are possessed by the devil, Sônia looks for a Santo Joãozinho da Gomeia to break the evil spell.
The characters seem to live in two simultaneous worlds, be it internal and external, be it material and mysterious marked by the narrative disruption. Sonia Silk is seen in a state of trance, or hallucinogenic delirium. Then she wanders through the streets of Copacabana and, alongside Lilian Lemmertz, screams repeatedly that she fears of old age!". Signifying the condition of a woman in a country taken over by the military. A society that is lost between order and progress. The plot deals with themes that are still the target of questions and prejudices: homosexuality, Afro-Brazilian rituals, conflicting social relations between the hill and the asphalt. In addition, in a simple and theatrical way it touches on the issue of those who betray resistance, who participate in the shambles, but who at certain times, become conservative and allied with the regime. The soundtrack is by the singer Gilberto Gil who lived in London, due to political exile. Sganzerla presents a cheeky satire loaded with perverse scenes as it tells of the anxieties in the Copacabana neighbourhood. He creates a picture of an uninhibitedly stupid society that could not live in peace if it wanted to, the film also portrays several scenes under the auspices of Noel Rosa. It is a playful, energetic, psychedelic, visually hypnotic critique of Brazilian society's descent into ruthless as it also debauched the problems and the political and cultural situation of the country. Don't expect a poverty cringefest or a narrative structure like Vladimir Carvalho or Eduardo Coutinho documentaries. This is a gem of Subversive cinema which plays out like a serio-comic experiment in Gonzo moviemaking. A must watch for the fans of New German Cinema movement, Art Theatre Guild (ATG) , Panic Movement and French underground film movement.
One of the angriest movies I've seen. A rage-filled journey shot in CinemaScope, largely in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, it was not released commercially due to censorship. The film is one of the most radical experiments in Brazilian cinema also a milestone of the Cinema Marginal movement which was against the Cinema Novo movement. They rejected mainstream cinema of the time, filmmakers in Marginal movement often sought to make their films no matter what stood in their way with support of Belair cycle together with Júlio Bressane. The biggest enemy for the movement was the censorship - which was a common issue director faced at the time. The storyline revolves around a social micro-cosmos. The characters represent the blueprint of a hate filled society, perpetuated in the form of Sônia Silk (Helena Ignez) who works as a prostitute while trying to become a singer for Rádio Nacional. Her brother Vidimar, a domestic servant and homosexual, falls in love with his boss, Dr. Grilo (Otoniel Serra). Sonia is always in the shadow of the power of her brother's boss. Sônia and Vidimar's mother thinks that both are possessed by the demon. After hearing her mother say that she and her brother are possessed by the devil, Sônia looks for a Santo Joãozinho da Gomeia to break the evil spell.
The characters seem to live in two simultaneous worlds, be it internal and external, be it material and mysterious marked by the narrative disruption. Sonia Silk is seen in a state of trance, or hallucinogenic delirium. Then she wanders through the streets of Copacabana and, alongside Lilian Lemmertz, screams repeatedly that she fears of old age!". Signifying the condition of a woman in a country taken over by the military. A society that is lost between order and progress. The plot deals with themes that are still the target of questions and prejudices: homosexuality, Afro-Brazilian rituals, conflicting social relations between the hill and the asphalt. In addition, in a simple and theatrical way it touches on the issue of those who betray resistance, who participate in the shambles, but who at certain times, become conservative and allied with the regime. The soundtrack is by the singer Gilberto Gil who lived in London, due to political exile. Sganzerla presents a cheeky satire loaded with perverse scenes as it tells of the anxieties in the Copacabana neighbourhood. He creates a picture of an uninhibitedly stupid society that could not live in peace if it wanted to, the film also portrays several scenes under the auspices of Noel Rosa. It is a playful, energetic, psychedelic, visually hypnotic critique of Brazilian society's descent into ruthless as it also debauched the problems and the political and cultural situation of the country. Don't expect a poverty cringefest or a narrative structure like Vladimir Carvalho or Eduardo Coutinho documentaries. This is a gem of Subversive cinema which plays out like a serio-comic experiment in Gonzo moviemaking. A must watch for the fans of New German Cinema movement, Art Theatre Guild (ATG) , Panic Movement and French underground film movement.
- samxxxul
- Jul 14, 2020