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Wednesday, March 06, 2024

Top Brazilian Films of All Time

The inspiration to make this list came after reading Filipe Furtado’s list of 10 Great Brazilian films.

These words by Filipe ring true with a slight change that UK can be replaced by majority of countries in the world: “Like many important filmographies of the global south, Brazilian cinema doesn’t circulate much in the UK, which can make the prospect of discovering it even more daunting.”

I have only seen 6 of 10 films in Filipe’s list but more telling is that I haven’t even heard of the remaining 4 films or seen any references to them in any film articles or books previously. Beyond these 4 films, there are numerous more worthy Brazilian films to be seen. That being said, I have decided to list my Top 10 knowing full well that this list will change over the years once I am able to see more vital Brazilian films.

Top 10 Brazilian Films

1. Black God, White Devil (1964, Glauber Rocha)
2. Limite (1931, Mario Peixoto)
3. Cabra Marcado para Morrer / Twenty Years Later (1984, Eduardo Coutinho)
4. Vidas Secas / Barren Lives (1963, Nelson Pereira dos Santos)
5. Pixote (1980, Hector Babenco)
6. Terra em Transe / Entranced Earth (1967, Glauber Rocha)
7. Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures (2005, Marcelo Gomes)
8. Neigboring Sounds (2012, Kleber Mendonça Filho)
9. A Febre / The Fever (2019, Maya Da-Rin)
10. Noite Vazia / Men and Women (1964, Walter Hugo Khouri)


Honourable Mentions (10 more films):

Barravento (1962, Glauber Rocha)
The House of Sand (2005, Andrucha Waddington)
O Padre e a Moça / The Priest and the Girl (1965, Joaquim Pedro de Andrade)
Central Station (1998, Walter Salles)
City of God (2002, Fernando Meirelles/Kátia Lund)
Carandiru (2003, Hector Babenco)
The Middle of the World (2003, Vicente Amorim)
Avenida Brasília Formosa (2010, Gabriel Mascaro)
O Pagador de Promessas / The Given Word (1962, Anselmo Duarte)
The Conspirators (1972, Joaquim Pedro de Andrade)

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