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)

The Films of Maya Da-Rin

Margem (Margin, 2007, Brazil/Colombia/Peru, Documentary)
Terras (Lands, 2009, Brazil, Documentary)
A Febre (The Fever, 2019, Brazil/France/Germany)

Fluid Borders

Margem/Margin (Maya Da-Rin)

The examination of borders is a theme in all three of Maya Da-Rin’s films yet the borders aren’t defined by fixed walls or markers. Instead, they are fluid borders where it is hard to tell where one border ends and another begins. In both Lands and Margin, the boats traveling on the Amazon river cross from Brazil to Peru or to Colombia without any actual border crossing or any markers. The locals points to the direction on land where a new country begins but in the river, it is hard to tell where one nation's border ends and another starts. 

In The Fever, it is the border between city/jungle and dreams/reality that is examined. At certain points in the film, there is a chain link fence that stands between the urban centre and the jungle but in many other parts of the city, this border is nonexistent. And as the film goes along, it is hard to determine if there is any separation between dreams and reality as the two realms feed into each other.

Transporting of goods

In the two documentaries, one can see the essential everyday items (food, goods) being transported in the boats. These items are on full display in the boats so locals can see them from afar and even hold the items. In addition, the locals can engage in trading if something catches their eye.

However, in The Fever, the goods are secured inside gigantic shipping containers. They come from faraway lands and their identity is well hidden. The good may be parts for industries as per Justino (Regis Myrupu). We never get to see what lies in these containers but instead observe the complex machinery at ports which load/unload these endless ocean of containers.

Globalization

The impact of globalization on local villages and people’s lives is clearly on display in all three films. In Lands and Margin, locals talk about leaving their nation to find better jobs on the other side of the border. This same need to earn a better living plays a big part in Justino’s decision to leave the forest and move to Manaus in The Fever. Manaus is surrounded by the Amazon rainforest and we can see how the city is encroaching on a daily basis further into the rainforest. However, in its own way, nature fights back. There are reports of attacks on the locals from a mysterious creature which has likely come from the jungle. The bigger fightback from nature is the fever that Justino gets. The fever is a reference to humans destruction of nature thereby eroding whatever borders protected humans from nature’s diseases. Justino also remarks on the eating habits in the city where as per him, eating supermarket food weakens one’s immune system. This comment illustrates how food is distributed and how in the cities, people get their food from packaged/processed goods as opposed to local means. The Fever is packed with many brilliant observations including some vital scenes which show the racism that indigenous people have to suffer in the city.