Review by guisreis

This documentary by Silvio Tendler about the career and personality of Glauber Rocha shows lots of footage of his wake, scenes and data of all his movies, and, the most interesting, testimonies of many filmmakers, artists and intellectuals who had close relatonship with him. Many of those testimonies are indulgent and reverent, but there are also clues that unveil much more about that character (who, as was said, became unanimously praised only after his death): he was absolutely arrogant and self-centred, he was loved by his friends but was also quite high-strung, he was much more politically confused than is often stated (his support for dictators Geisel and Figueiredo was certainly the most bizarre example of that, but not the only one), and it is impressive how many times people (who liked him!) referred to him as crazy (and the film shows various situations that seem to prove that). He was also quite disrespectful with others' works (particularly other filmmakers, but also actors who worked with him), and the episode held in Venice Festival (what a shame!) is a remarkable example: when he lost to Lous Malle, he made a scandal offending Malle and the critics. I have not watched Atlantic City, but I consider his Elevator to the Gallows as better than any film by overrated Glauber. More important and less polemical than it, I may add that Glauber's Idade da Terra is indeed a terrible film, as most critics considered, and it is the worst movie by him I have watched so far.