Did anyone see any similarity between Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol and Godard's Week End? i personally found some connections between the two, however, i would like to know if anyone else felt the same if at all.

On Taking Control of the American Spotlight and Shining it on the Issues at Hand & the Hunger of Vidas Sicas

I would like to address Gabe's second question first because it is the question with which I carry the most weight of feeling and opinion. I believe that American filmmakers are one of, if not the most, vocal artistic citizens when it comes to criticizing or unveiling deep dark holes that litter the collective consciousness of America. One need not look any further than Sunday night's Oscar telecast debuted a sequence oversaw by the great Michael Mann that summarized what "America" looked like on film. Rather than having a Hollywood stroke-fest where we are once again forced to re-live the "iconic" moments of damned Jimmy Stewart running down the snow covered streets of Bedford Falls or Howard Beale have a complete breakdown on a national newscast, (which would actually be relevant statements regarding America on film if they weren't trotted out every six minutes to show us how important film is to American society), we were instead shown a cynical and probing look at the battered, delusional and repressed American psyche. We weren't shown the Wicked Witch of the West but burning crosses and white-hoods from Mississippi Burning along with mangled corpses from Saving Private Ryan followed immediately by James Brown singing Living in America. Not only is this a singular statement regarding how this nation is regarded, and there were some pleasant and sweet things as well, but the pieces of this sequence peeled apart gives us hours and hours of the American experience through a sober and mournful eye. The real question to come from all of this, then, is not why are American filmmakers not doing all they can to shed light on the social, political, spiritual, emotional and psychological, internal, international and universal subjects that are relevant, known and heretofore unknown, but rather why aren't enough Americans engaged in what is going on to see these films and give the proper attention and meditation these subjects deserve?

Regarding the visual relationship with the themes in Vidas Sicas, they are heavily related like any good and well-thought out film should be. This is not an easy film to watch because the lives we see on screen are not easy to live. With that said, once we get through that awfully depressing non-diagetic ox-cart wheel shrieking through out the haunting opening long take, we, if patient and lacking expectation, are slowly worked into the spare and thankless lives of one family. I realize nifty and sharp angles here are used to create jarring discomfort and how the camera captures in such a raw way the poverty that surrounds us, but I am more captivated by how the actors are able to translate to us how hunger and thirst look and act. They all blend in here to create a multi-faceted organism designed to show how apathy and a rigid adherence to exploitation for profit of the society surrounding them can make one feel like an animal. I was especially taken aback by the woman who played the mother, a true representation of what the ideal emotional model of a mother would be under these unforgiving circumstances. I understand that sometimes she could be abrasive, notably regarding her eldest son's question regarding hell, but she was strong and emotionally supportive, unlike her husband, who tends to give the old macho 'soldier on' throwback when his children are collapsing from hunger and exhaustion.

Brazil and "the Documentary"

Since I am going to Columbia mainly for documentary film, I felt the need to open the spectrum of Brazilian documentary. Below are some links that pertain to Brazilian docs.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The É Tudo Verdade International Documentary Festival
In its 12th edition, It's All True - International Documentary Festival, celebrates the non-fiction works of Polish filmmaker Krzyzstof Kieslowski (1941-1996). A selection with over a dozen of his documentaries, short and medium-length, made between the 60's and the 80's, will be followed by panel discussions and documentaries on the director of the "The Decalogue".

The festival will be held from March 22 thru April 1st in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with itinerancies in Brasília, Campinas and Porto Alegre.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -







Celebrating its 14th edition in 2007, Hot Docs will present more than 100 films from over 20 countries from April 19-29 in Toronto. All films in official competitions will be receiving their first Toronto showing, with many screenings being world, international, North American or Canadian premieres. For most screenings, directors will be in attendance to introduce their films and to participate in post-show Q & A sessions with the audience.

In 2007, Hot Docs will present its “made in” program focusing on Brazil:

MADE IN BRAZIL - Each year, the Made in… programme features work from a country or region with an exciting nascent documentary movement. At this year’s Festival, Brazil’s vibrant and complex culture is captured on film in this vital selection of docs.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Panel: Documentaries at the box office - international models
Article about the growing international market for documentary films, including Brazil

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Two recent documentaries I saw:

FAVELA RISING - - - http://favelarising.com/default.php











BUS I74 - - - http://www.bus174.com/













- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Some documentaries I found online, but have not seen yet:

Born in Brazil - http://www.prc.utexas.edu/borninbrazil/about.htm

Cidade das Mulheres (The City of Women) - http://www.international.ucla.edu/showevent.asp?eventid=4203

Mandinga em Manhattan - http://www.international.ucla.edu/showevent.asp?eventid=4203

Tow-Surfing http://www.surfersvillage.com/surfing/20956/news.htm


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Vidas Secas

I really liked this film. I thought that the cinematography worked perfectly for the story and the pace and look of the film made me feel like I was there. I could almost feel the weight they were carrying and the sun's heat. I really loved the dog and I thought she brought some joy to the film.

I liked how there was no musical score because the film showed the reality of this family's life and music might have ruined the effect they were going for. The sounds used in the film were very effective and were all that was needed. I actually didn't notice there was no score until I saw the violin lesson and the procession.

I kept thinking to myself that this movie could take place anywhere in the world. Poverty is a universal problem and it reminded me of other foreign films I have seen. I think it's important for cinema to show social problems and struggles and I'm glad we got a better look at what life in Brazil is really like for many people. It's sad that the problem continues today.

Sao Paulo, Brazil has great trains.

I recently stumbled onto a web site through digg.com that ranked the top 11 underground transit systems and the Sao Paulo Metro was ranked #11 (Chicago Transit Authority was not mentioned). According to the blurb it is one of the cleanest and safest systems in the world. Not exactly what I would call the Red Line.

A Reflection: National Identity in American Cinema

As the Face and Voice of America continues to change the definition of “American” transforms as well. This truth is also reflected in American cinema of today where filmmakers are emerging from all different ethnic and religious backgrounds and re-defining what was once know as “An All American Movie”. Because America continues to rapidly evolve culturally, it is impossible to deny the stories and perspectives of all Americans.

Although I am aware that all films can not directly address social and cultural issues of the time, it is important that filmmakers embrace and recognize the need for diversity in perspective and voice in American cinema. Films like Babel, Pans Labyrinth, Children of Men, and The Last King of Scotland should serve as examples of what Americans are today want to see.

My hope and goal as a filmmaker is to use my “voice” as a platform for those who are silenced and unheard.

Cinematography in Vidas Secas

I was absolutely amazed by this film in general, but the technical aspects were particularly impressive. From the opening shot I could tell that there was going to be a strong emphasis placed on camera work. The four-minute fixed, wide shot at the beginning set the premise for the rest of the film's long, minimally cut sequences. This austere, drawn-out rhythm is absolutely necessary to establishing a realistic depiction of life in the sertao. Interspersed amongst long, fixed shots was the use of handheld tracking shots. Notably at the beginning, when the family is walking along the dried-up riverbed, the little boy is filmed handheld. This toggles between a tracking shot of the boy, and his POV as he looks up at the dying trees and his father. This filming/editing technique makes this sequence both visually interesting and extremely realistic.
Another important cinematographic technique is the discreet selection of either stark, wide angles, or contrasty, tight close-ups. The wide shots almost always convey emptiness and desolation, while the tight, shadowy images of people’s faces conveys their suffering and frustration. Interestingly, the only characters in this entire film to show any signs of happiness are children.
I noticed a strong emphasis is placed on positive qualities in children, animals, and women, in contrast to the negative qualities in men. The mother’s superior intelligence to that of her husband’s is repeatedly shown. For example, she has to do the family’s financial calculations. The most compelling example is at the end of the film, when the mother asks the father (while watching their children walk ahead of them) “I wonder what they’re thinking?” displaying insight and intellectual curiosity, the father responds with an abrupt, “Children don’t think,” revealing his insensitivity and simple-mindedness. The young boy also displays intellectual insight, when he ponders the concept of hell.
Imagery is what makes Vidas Secas so powerful. Throughout the film are countless meticulously framed visual motifs that form the foundation for dos Santos’ “aesthetic of hunger.” Shots of people whipping cows, Baleia killing a rabbit, the tax collector taxing the father, the father’s boss short-changing him, the bartender watering down drinks—these are all visual cues that represent the struggle for survival in the sertao. Any minor personal gain must come at the cost of something else’s suffering.
This concept is not born through dialogue; it is born through cinematography. The absence of dialogue is much more important than its presence. For instance, at the end of the film when the father sees the police captain in the forest, there is more than a minute of footage that is completely void of dialogue. The two men’s facial expressions and body movements are more than enough information to convey to the viewer what they are thinking. This technique is far more interesting and effective than the over-use of dialogue that exists in typical filmmaking. Another example of how interesting the absence of dialogue can be is when the father sees the young girl who is getting violin lessons in his boss’s house. The father is obviously struck by the girl’s beauty, but he neither says nor does anything other than stare at her. When she notices his stare, he guiltily averts his gaze.
Although there is very minimal dialogue, the use of audio is as precise, unconventional and effective as the use of cinematography. The motif of struggle for survival is evident during the often use of annoying drone of ambient wildlife sounds. The “aesthetic of hunger” is evident with the painful squeak of the violin and wagon.
Here are some other random things I jotted down while watching Vidas Secas that I found interesting:
-Mis en scene music—effectively the only melody in the whole film is in-scene, including the man playing violin during the girl’s lessons, and the bumba-meu-boi ceremony.
-Use of high-contrast film stock (most likely 16mm reversal). This was particularly cool-looking in the in-house scenes, where the bright outside light created dark shadows on the subjects inside the dark houses.
-Bizarre, creative framing, including lots of leading-lines shots along fences and walls.
-Simultaneous foreground and background action.
-Anthropomorphization of Baleia the dog.
-Strong focus on wildlife and manual labor.
-Themes of corruption and police brutality

Also, I researched who the cinematographer was, and the primary one was the nephew of Edgar Brasil (the cinematographer for Limite).

Vidas Secas vs. The haze of comfort: Escapism in U.S. films

"My generation was profoundly concerned about the country's problems and we all studied Brazil and read Brazilian authors and Sociologists and sought to take a more active part in politics in an attempt to transform the prevalent situation. This synthesis of making films and discussing our situation found a model in Italian Neo-realism, a model, which, at the time, inspired other developing countries. It all boiled down to not relying on the inter mediation of capital in order to make films at home: "the author and reality," 'the people as artists' and all the basic principles of Italian Neo-realism that in short is the basis of my career."

These words from Nelson Pereira dos Santos interject the reality of our own cinematic situation here in the U.S., and it's lack of any authentic legitimacy when dealing with the question of National Identity. Before I comment on this topic, I would like to dwell on Vidas Secas (1963).

From the opening of the film we as spectators are cast into a reality that disrupts most expectations. The family walks and approaches as they would in real time, the temporal duration already informing us of a struggle; a struggle against nature, a struggle against hunger, a struggle against death and ultimately against oppression. Oppression that is created through an economic system that benefits the middle classes in society, our suspicions are reaffirmed when we encounter the encomienda like landlord, the soldier, and the mayor who feasts and is celebrated at the expense of the migrants labors.

In a cinematic sense the film renders itself to the themes quite naturally. Besides the temporal aspects of the opening sequence, the spatial element proclaims the utter alienation of the migrant family from their own environment. At this point their situation reflects what the social structures construe, unlike most films dealing with the lower classes; which attempt at deifying the grimmest of situations. Dos Santos depicts them as they are, a brusque and linguistically challenged people whose hunger has De-humanized them. It is mentioned in the readings that the family's modes of communicating symbolize their situation. I would also add that for them there is no such thing, for them it's a matter of pure instinct brutally caused by the society itself. In Dos Santos' view there is no romance in poverty, the harsh light that reflects from the sun further emphasizes such oppression. The use of sound also heightens the savageness of life for the migrants. When the screeching noise debuts at the start of the film, it crashes in to inform the spectators of the obstacles ahead, the suffocation of nature.

With the purpose fully conscripted one is prescribed to compare such Cinema like Vidas Secas, with the current onslaught of films produced here in the states. My only conviction is that there is nothing to compare insofar as dealing with the social conditions raised to the fore in Vidas Secas. Just like we see in our trends of consumption, most of today's U.S. filmmakers are puking out films that will give the sleeping and slothful masses more reason to keep feeling good about themselves. In film its the same as it is in our communities; too much time and resources spent on idealizing our middle class values and sustaining our lifestyles. What this causes is a haze of comfort that in the end accomplishes the estrangement from the social concerns that plague life in the United States. If there are issues that happen to be addressed they are usually sugarcoated to make them appear like all the other garbage we are spoon fed. Leading the masses to believe that the problems are being resolved by those in power, so there is no need for our art or should I say entertainment to be tainted by such issues. The fact of the matter is that things are actually in the pits, but I cannot get into that now as much as I would like because that would require a book.

I would say that if I ever end up making films, political and social issues would be addressed at all times. I got into this madness because of movies like Vidas Secas that keep reminding me over and over again that we do not live in the best of all possible worlds, and the reason this is still true well into the 21st Century has to do with the haze of comfort that empowers and enslaves us at the same time.

A few inquiries on and around Vidas Secas - please respond

Vidas Secas, like Glauber Rocha's Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol (screening this Tuesday), is a revolutionary film. Made before the military coup d'etat of 1964 that would lead to years of repression and political corruption in Brazil, it was already a call to arms.

Nelson Pereira dos Santos said in a recent interview: "Poverty [...] is a permanent theme in all my films; it's not possible to think about national identity without including the very serious problem of absolute poverty in some parts of Brazil. It's inadmissible for a man of the twentieth century to live alongside poverty, and the essential point in the struggle of anyone who wants to participate in the social movement in Brazil is the elimination of poverty. Obviously poverty in Brazil is a political question, because the Brazilian elites, the "lords of power", have to be aware of the threat of poverty because interests combine to make this situation permanent... There are many effective measures to be taken in order to neutralize a political situation and the exploitation of labor, which has little changed since the time of slavery... There is an archaic Brazil producing a quantity of people who have nowhere to live. The issue here is agrarian reform and is the great message of the book Vidas Secas, and consequently of my film..."

The shocking thing, of course, is that so little has changed since the novel was written and the film was made. There are even more starving migrant workers in Brazil than before -- millions and millions of people.

To me, the political situation in Brazil is somewhat similar to the one in the U.S. When the powers that be mobilize on an issue, it's often to protect a wealthy elite. There is also racism in this since that wealthy elite is mostly white and most of the poor people in this country are black and Latino.

It's the same in Brazil: the Natives, the blacks, and other minority communities are the ones who suffer.

Dos Santos seems to imply that it's a filmmaker's responsibility to address the question of National Identity. In this, all the social issues will consequently come into play.

Some questions for you guys.

- What are some potential links between dos Santos' aesthetic concerns and his social concerns? How does "The Aesthetic of Hunger" (see Glauber Rocha essay in textbook) correspond to the film Vidas Secas?

- Do you think filmmakers from the U.S. today are addressing, in an honest and satisfactory way, the question of National Identity, or, in plain words, what it is to be an American? If so, list some examples and why. Also, as film students and people who are committed to film in some way or another, how do you weigh social issues in the kinds of films that you see or the kinds of films you would like to make/be involved in?

I would like everyone to please respond to these two items. For those of you who have not posted before, this is your chance to catch up!

[The above is the book jacket cover for the English translation of Graciliano Ramos' Vidas Secas, which is widely available and has some very nice illustrations.]

Brazil and the Academy Awards

It is Oscar weekend, folks....

Here are all the Brazilian films that have been nominated for Best Foreign Language film:

The Given Word by Anselmo Duarte (1962)
O Quatrilho by Fábio Barreto (1995)
Four Days in September by Bruno Barreto (1997)
Central Station by Walter Salles (1998)

Just goes to show most Brazilian films made in the 60's and 70's correspond to a radical and non-commercial aesthetic that the Academy did/does not favor. In the 90's, Brazilian films begin to look more like Hollywood products, hence the string of boring, fairly unchallenging nominees.

A few Brazilians have been nominated for awards in other categories. Among them:

Ary Barroso, nominated in 1944 for the song "Rio de Janeiro" from RKO's production Brazil.

Fernanda Montenegro, nominated in 1999 for her performance in Central Station.

Fernando Mereilles (director), Daniel Rezende (editor), and Bráulio Mantovani (screenwriter) were all nominated in their respective categories for City of God in 2004, Mantovani in the Adapted category.

If anyone can turn up other Brazilian nominees, post 'em in the comments section for extra credit.

[Above still from The Given Word]

Vidas Secas

I can post again hurrah!!!! It just depends now if i have something intelligent to say so here goes. I really liked Vidas Secas, it was affectionate and touching yet completely real. I thought that the father character was interesting, he was stepped on and treated like dirt and was completely pathetic but you just felt sympathy for him. There is a universality in his character and as a western audience we watch films like Garden State and Angelas Ashes and there is a general malaise towards the fathers but there is no real addressing if what if your father tried really hard and was just stepped on all his life. I think that we can draw inspiration from Vidas Secas in contemporary cinema and address this with questions like in the 21st century what exactly is a father? or men in general?

Vidas Secas - Barren Lives

The essay "Cinema of Hunger: Nelson Pereira dos Santos's Vidas Secas," written by Robet Stam and Randal Johnson, states that the original novel had striking similarities to The Grapes of Rath. The interesting thing that they point out is that the novel Vidas Secas was written in the late thirties. Although director Nelson Pereira dos Santos set the film in the early forties, he intended on bringing up contemporary issues. The authors point out that there is irony in the fact that the same types of problems involving the underprivileged and landowners still had not changed much in more than twenty years. The theme of underprivileged being taken advantage of by people in power is something that can be traced to many great films with social commentary. This, along with the tremendous acting, pacing, and cinematography, helps the film resonate with audiences today in a similar fashion to how it was received when it was first released.

Thoughts on Limite

Watching Limite was quite an experience. I don't think I have ever seen a film without any sound at all before. At times I was imagining sounds in my head to accompany the images, but I let the images take over. What really stood out for me were the camera movements and composition. There were so many shots of feet and hands and hair and the camera movements were really interesting and original. There were some shots in the film that stood out like the negative exposures and shots of nature and the sea. I didn't really understand the story, but I don't think that really matters. This film was like visual poetry and I was very impressed with it.

Look! Rare cool stuff!

Sorry it took so long to post these pictures. Here is our projectionist with the print of Limite borrowed from the Museum of Modern Art

Carnival

The Brazilian Carnival (Portuguese: Carnaval) is an annual celebration in Brazil held forty days before Easter and marking the start of Lent. During Lent, Roman Catholics, which constitute the majority in Brazil, are to abstain from bodily pleasures. Carnival, which is celebrated as a profane event, can thus be considered an act of farewell to the pleasures of the flesh.

The Brazilian citizens used to riot the Carnival until it was accepted by the government as an expression of culture. The modern Brazilian Carnival finds its roots in Rio de Janeiro in the 1830s, when the city’s bourgeoisie imported the practice of holding balls and masquerade parties from Paris. It originally mimicked the European form of the festival, over time acquiring elements derived from African and Amerindian cultures.

O Ebrio - The Drunkard

The ending of this film was effective in that it went against what we would expect to see from a film coming out of this time period. The ending is filled with coincidence in that Gilberto, Lola, and Marieta all find themselves in the same bar. We almost assume that there will be closure. Although he accepts Marieta's apology, there will be no further interaction, which was a surprise to me.

It seems as the times progress (at least through the films we have been screening), we are able to see more and more Brazilians that are not of the elite class. Unfortunately, most of them are shown as caricatures except for Gilberto. Both his maid and his cousin's are not portrayed equally. Despite the type of treatment they receive by their "masters," they still show love for their bosses. Although this film stereotypes the lower class, it appealed to a vast amount of people. As we talked about in class, drinking was and still is a serious problem in Brazil. It seems as if many could relate to Gilberto's reason for drinking. To forget.

The Sky Cannot Contain Limite

Sorry for the half-pun, but I'm deliriously tired. This will not affect my opinions, however, on Limite because they are strong. I am furious because I have seen a film over 70 years old; a film that is rarely seen yet within it contains a creative and spiritual power that is timeless and and goes under appreciated by virtually every major critic and cinephile I can find on the net. Nothing from Ebert, a paragraph from Rosenbaum. This is simply not enough. Within this film contains the best, the best, visual representation of consciousness I have ever witnessed. The poetic fluidness of the film had me breathless, from the opening scene of an oppressive image of chained hands to the stunning conclusion of the waves of fate burying our protagonists forever in the sea. Within all of these layers pops up continuously how we are limited by the raw and mysterious power of nature that indifferently turns its back to our greatest existential quandaries of purpose and restriction. What fun is had with the images. The spinning cliff shot exudes improvisation and playfulness and Pixotes age and early withdrawal is stuff of film legend. Yet, it mostly falls upon blind eyes. What a pleasant surprise this was and how lucky we were to be able to see it as it was meant. My eyes are open to this new-found breed of cinema I have been exposed to and I am eager for more.

Carnaval Blues

I dont know if anyone else went to this screening this past Friday, but i thought that i was something worth going to, after all we are in a Brazilian cinema class. The film was full of modern brazilian culture and liveliness that it has to offer. Here is the plot line of the film: Guillermo Locke is an American anthropology student traveling to Brazil for the first time to study its "culture of violence" for his thesis. " Mestre" is a poor but respected community leader and master teacher of Capoeira (ka' pou ey' ra), a Brazilian tradition of martial arts and dance. Namibia is Mestre's whimsical 12-year-old daughter. The lives of all three are changed forever as they cross paths amidst the paradoxical, spiritual, and celebratory backdrop of Carnival.
The film was great except that when i was really getting into the film it ended. I was not sure for most of the film what was really going on. There was a lot of cross-cutting between film and video for a "doc-in-film" look. The concept of this was great, but was not executed as well as i thought it could have been. The end sequence of this film was beautiful and well composed. This film was directed by Miguel Silveira who is a teacher here at Columbia, so check out the film if you want at: http://www.baixosantadoaltogloria.com.br/ I know this was not a film we screened in class, but i thought it tied in well. Until next time, take care!

John~

A Reflection: Limite

A Reflection: Limite

Limite is a quiet reflection of time: recognizing the beauty and despair of being a part of its passing.

Unlike last week’s Ganga Bruta, I appreciate how this film gives insight into the culture and people of Brazil. The characters in the film represent the faces and true ideology of the time, by forcing its viewers to patiently experience time from their perspective.

It was also great to see an alternative point of view of expectant male and female gender roles. The female characters unlike the male characters of Limite are driving forces within the film- Allowing their existence to be equal and quite possibly more important then their counterparts.

Mario Peixoto... dot com

Mario Peixoto.com

A Reflection: Ganga Bruta

Gang Bruta, is an alternative perspective into what I understand Brazilian cinema to be. It was interesting but not surprising to find the lead roles as well as the supporting roles appear only of white European descent. At no point within the film is there an actor or actress that appears to be of African or Native origin, a decision I'm sure can be attributed to Hollywood's ideal aesthetic of the time (Blonde and Fair). Also presented within the context of the film (possibly more passive then the female and male outward aesthetic) is the familiar presence of Hollywood's archetypal male and female roles.

:The urgently sought after "damsel in distress", needs a strong level headed man to save her not only from clear and hidden danger, but also from herself.

The other question I pondered with at the commencement of the film, is whether or not the central plot is simply a flashback (backstory to what led to the murder in the opening scene) or is the last scene of the film just an erie coincidence?

My Take on Ganga Bruta

What a delight. This film was like a poetic breeze taking us through regret, heart brake and the joy and horror of a new found love. The film bravely kept its own pace and never rushed to follow the plot or give us unnecessary details about the lead characters. It was spare and didn't say more than it wanted to and knew best when to move on. It was interesting to see Brazil in base of modernization and as well as the decay the construction of new buildings caused. Regarding some of the things said in the class discussion, I do believe some regret and remorse was shown by Allende, but I think the film romanticized his self-imposed tragedy. It would have been more interesting to see the filmmakers take a hands-off approach and let the character speak for himself. I must say thoug, I was entranced by the sequence where his odd looking friend sings that beautiful song while Allende reminisces and stews in his past. Also interesting was his drinking problem and how it inflated his sense of power and duty. I also admired the acting. Seeing as it was mostly a silent film, I was impressed at how, for the most part, the acting was restrained and playful and not over the top where it shouldn't have been, compared to most of the silent films I have seen, (which, admittedly, are fewer than I would like), which choose to emphasize each singular emotions through their actors rather than synthesizing those emotions into an interesting composition of what a human is. With that said, I was mostly pleased with what I saw, despite its flaws of overly romanticizing its lead and turning its female characters into 1-D harlots and floozies.

Limite (1931) is on

The 16mm print of Limite arrived from New York this (Monday) morning, just in time.

More thoughts on Ganga Bruta

I agree with John that the cinematography in this film is innovative. I never expected to see actual moving camera work besides the occasional slow pan. There was one shot that I remember being done with a crane (though I can't remember exactly what the shot was of). The trolley shots were impressive because the train was obviously moving. The shots were also impressive because they were done on location, in very tight spaces with bulky equipment. The story was interesting in that it obviously would never have been made in the US during the thirties. I wasn't quite sure what the repeated images of the gargoyle were meant to symbolize if anything. Nonetheless, I was impressed with the on location shooting.

Back in Town

Nice to see the blogging is going smashingly. It's really gratifying for me to read your thoughts: I know what many Brazilian scholars and filmmakers think of these films but rarely hear the opinions of American film enthusiasts about them. Keep up your strong and perceptive observations. A note about this coming Tuesday's class: if our booking was successful (I'll know for sure Monday morning), we'll be showing a 16mm print of Limite, the legendary early Brazilian film (the one and only by its director, Mario Peixoto), from the Museum of Modern Art in New York's Circulating Film Library. This is a unique opportunity-- don't miss it! On Ganga Bruta: I hope we'll be able to discuss it some more in class, along with a few clips from Mauro's other films I'll be bringing by. Since Limite is two hours, we'll have to do kind of an express tour of Mauro's oeuvre but I think it will be worth it.

Ganga Bruta.

Hey everybody :D
I not really a "blogger" but i will try to do my best. Well now onto my thoughts about Ganga Bruta. The film was great. Gabe you were right about the imagery in this film, it was wonderful. For once i wish i could have seen a black and white film in color ( and i never say that about black and white films either). The camera placement in this film was so innovative especially of the time period that it was filmed. All the over the head shots, along with the tracking shots of the garden love-making scene. Metaphorically speaking the film was hilarious. referring back to the garden love scene, the imagery of the long pipe and the water pressure building up and then the pistons pumping faster and faster..... very clever. As an editor that is the one element that i look out for the most.
I love how the film was so wonderfully edited. The match-cuts which were not done that often in the 30's where all over that film. Foe example when you see the main character wiping off his camera lens and then is cuts into the wheel turning in the same motion.. wonderful. The film was very pleasing to the eye with the editing technique that was used. Unlike America in the 30's that only used "invisible" editing style, this film wanted you to see what they were doing.
It was nice to do a compare and contrast of American films of the same period to this film and see how they are so different. The American films were so uptight and restricted to portraying one style of film anything different would be looked down upon. I wish that America could be more lose with its film content like other countries. But thats just my thought. well until next week everyone have a safe and fun weekend.