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Why do Brazilian films get no respect? No, I don't mean the

Posted by tinear (A) on September 20, 2009 at 09:49:34

Salles or Meirelles (or even Babenco) films but, rather, the great films from their mentors, the directors of the fifties, sixties, and seventies.
Case in point, Luis Sergio Person's, "Sao Paulo, Sociedade Anonima," from 1965. At the time, Brazil was in a military dictatorship but Person trained his sights beyond the political, which can be seen from his title. "Sociedade Anonima" is similar in meaning to corporation but, in placing it after the name of the city, Person is playing on the literal meaning of an alienated society, a modern megalopolis where citizens are cogs in a vast "business."
An ambitious man has several affairs but is dissatisfied with the moral emptiness both of his lovers and his modest career. Then, almost simultaneously, he meets and marries a strong-willed, principled woman and begins working for an unprincipled but highly successful business owner.
But behind and beyond these two powerful influences, a third influence which never sleeps, which can never be quieted or satisfied, exerts its inescapable will. Sao Paulo itself, the restless,
cacophonous, population-exploding nucleus of South America, brilliantly is created not as a scenic, urban backdrop but as living character which cannot be silenced or ignored.
This isn't merely a very good film or an artistic tour-de-force. Rather, it transcends the merely entertaining or engrossing into a penetrating, disturbing, and unequalled depiction of modern urban existence.
Yes, Person obviously was aware of Antonioni (the brilliant use of architecture), Godard (the street shots, the shot-on-the-run feeling), and Fellini (the caustic, almost hideous depiction of marginalized characters)--- but he has taken that palette and created a unique masterpiece, all with a Brazilian flair.
In the central role (and his first film!), Walmor Chagas demonstrated the skills that would lead to decades of stardom in Brazilian film.
The score, which some have criticized for being either too prominent or not-matched-to-the-drama, I'd argue was perfect counter-point.
Now, as to why Brazilian film gets so little respect... I'd guess it's because of the powerful influence of the cliché of Brazil as the land of sun and passion.
It also has world-class architecture and painting, similarly all-but-ignored... but that's another discussion.

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