User reviews

After an absence of many years, Tieta, who is now in her forties, returns to Santa Ana as a rich woman, the envy of the town. Tieta has a mysterious aura about her, that no one, even her father and sister, can't imagine where her wealth comes from. Of course, having been married to a wealthy man might have been one scenario, but there are many hints pointing about what the nature of her "business" is in Sao Paolo. The truth will not be revealed until the end, when Tieta, who has grown restless in the small town, decides to go back where she belongs.

The novel by the great Jorge Amado gets a tepid adaptation by director Carlos Diegues. This is his third movie based by the director of Jorge Amado's novels. Diegues was more successful with his earlier films, "Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos" and "Gabriela, Cravo e Canela", using the master story teller's texts. In all these films he has been lucky enough to entice the gorgeous Sonia Braga to participate in them.

In fact, "Tieta do Agreste" kept reminding us of Frederich Durrenmatt's "The Visit" because in both a rich woman, who has been wronged in the past, come home to deal with the town and the people that were cruel to them, but that's where all the similarities end. In the German version, Karla deals with her past in a vengeful way, whereas in the Brazil of Jorge Amado, Tieta has a different approach.

Sonia Braga's Tieta is full of fire, and for being in her forties, at the time she made the film, she shows quite a figure as the sultry creature who discovers a few things about herself, her family, and the town in which she was banished from by her heartless father. When she needed compassion, Tieta, got none. Her revenge is that she became rich and now she is in a position to help the backward Northeast town to get the electricity it badly needs. In the process, she falls in love with a younger man who betrays her. Tieta deals with her pious sister who only cares for the money she can get for herself and her son.

Carlos Diegues got excellent performances from this talented cast. Marilia Pera, who plays Perpetua, Tieta's sister makes an excellent contribution to the film. Claudia Abreu, is another good actress that makes a good appearance in the film as Leonora, Tieta's step-daughter. The rest, Chico Anysis, Zeze Notta, Leon Gomes, among others, make a great contribution.

We read recently that Ms. Braga had returned home from her prolonged stay in the U.S., as she felt Hollywood, in general, had not been too kind to her lately. Ms. Braga deserves vehicles like "Tieta do Agreste" in which to shine. One could only hope her collaborations with Brazilian directors like Carlos Diegues will produce many more happy collaborations for our benefit.

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.

Sonia Braga has come full circle starring in the Jorge Amado "trilogy"...."Dona Flor", "Gabriela", and now, Tieta".....and she's at her absolute best in this funny and enchanting story of the scorned "prodical daughter" returning to her slightly backwards hometown after an absence of more than 25 years, only to find nothing much has changed.

The movie was filmed in the beautiful coastal province of Bahia, in Brazil, and combined with the rythmatic music of Caetano Veloso, and the heavenly voices of Gal Costa and Zeze Motta,[who is also in the film] it's definitely a "must see"!

Watch the begining of the film for a cameo of the great Amado himself.

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.

Great movie!!!!!!!!!1 got a little bit of all, comedy, erotic :) ,Drama, all in one, watch it i hope you like it, i know i do !!!!!!!!!!!!! good actors, well done, it catch you in the act and i realize Sônia Bragas is hot maybe it's not the youngest actress in the world but she is still hot. and the only advice is to watch another thing when is nephew fucks with another girl, it's grouse, , good director, cast, soundtrack, all its good, its weird but if you watch it relaxed you are going to like it as much as i do, have funny parts, and serious parts too, it's not for the whole family, the main actress show her nipples, watch it, and enjoy.

Entertaining movie, good story, great locations, and at 46, Sonia Braga is charming and looks GREAT! The story is good, with some scenes sticking in my mind: The helicopter dropping gifts and causing a great fight. The contrast between the two sisters. The scene at the beach with Miss Braga au natural. She looks HOT. Not many 46 year old women can look so good with no clothes at all. The prolonged fight over the installation of the factory. The various amorous alliances. This is, after all, a Brazilian movie. :-) All in all, a very entertaining couple of hours. And, yes, great music. Maybe it won't hold the interest of the average American movie goer, but for the rest of us.... we are charmed.

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.

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.

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".