Barren Lives (1963)
"Vidas Secas" (original title)

A poor family in the Northeast of Brazil (Fabiano, the father; Sinhá Vitória, the mother; their 2 children and a bitch called Baleia) wander about the barren land searching for a better ... See full summary »

Director:

Nelson Pereira dos Santos

Writers:

Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Graciliano Ramos (novel)

Stars:

Átila Iório, Maria Ribeiro, Orlando Macedo

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Átila Iório	...	Fabiano
Maria Ribeiro	...	Sinhá Vitória (Mother)
Orlando Macedo	...	Soldado Amarelo (Soldier)
Joffre Soares	...	Fazendeiro (Farmer)
Gilvan Lima	...	Boy (as Gilvan)
Genivaldo Lima	...	Boy (as Genivaldo)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Orlando Chagas
Ignacio Costa
Nabor Costa
Oscar de Souza
José Leite
Vanuterio Maia
Manuel Ordonio
Maria Rosa
Antonio Soarez

Storyline

A poor family in the Northeast of Brazil (Fabiano, the father; Sinhá Vitória, the mother; their 2 children and a bitch called Baleia) wander about the barren land searching for a better place to live, with food and work. But the drought and misery destroy their hopes.

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Plot Keywords:

brazil | countryside | new latin american cinema | poverty | cinema novo | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

11 December 1967 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Barren Lives

Company Credits

Production Co:

Luiz Carlos Barreto Produções Cinematográficas, Sino Filmes

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Como se Morre no Cinema (2003)

User Reviews

Brazilian cinema's jewel

This film of Nelson Pereira dos Santos and another one called "Oz fuzis" or 'The guns' by Ruy Guerra are my favourite Brazilian movies. These films have mirrored the films of Mrinal Sen and Adoor Gopalakrishnan made in India at about the same time. The realism they offer and the rather unconventional use of the soundtrack affects the viewer, though seriously lacking in production quality. I know that most critics tend to classify these two Brazilian films as representative of the Cinema Nouvo, but I prefer to see the two as unusually impressive cinema, little affected by Hollywood. Vidas Secas in a way brings back memories of neo-realism in de Sica's "Bicycle Thief."

The later work of dos Santos failed to impress me. He seems to have burned out--improving in technical qualities but losing out on artistic vision.