Macunaíma (1969)

Director:

Joaquim Pedro de Andrade

Writers:

Joaquim Pedro de Andrade (writer)
Mário de Andrade (novel)

Release Date:

1969 (Brazil)

Genre:

Fantasy | Comedy

Plot:

Our story begins with Macunaima's miraculous birth to an old woman in a tiny jungle settlement. Born full grown...

Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | Jungle | Birth | Satire | Sex

Awards:

5 wins

Cast

Grande Otelo	...	Black Macunaíma / Macunaíma's son
Paulo José	...	White Macunaíma / Macunaíma's mother
Jardel Filho	...	Venceslau Pietro Pietra
Dina Sfat	...	Ci
Milton Gonçalves	...	Jiguê
Rodolfo Arena	...	Maanape
Joana Fomm	...	Sofara
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wilza Carla	...	Fat Lady
Hugo Carvana	...	Man with the duck
Leovegildo Cordeiro
Maria Lúcia Dahl	...	Iara
Rafael de Carvalho	...	Caapora
Tite de Lemos	...	Narrator (voice)
Maria Do Rosario	...	Iquiri
Maria Letícia
Zezé Macedo
Myrian Muniz	...	Venceslau's wife
Nazareth Ohana
Waldir Onofre
Carmem Palhares
Maria Clara Pelegrino	...	Venceslau's maid
Guará Rodrigues	...	Bum (as Guaracy Rodrigues)
Edy Siqueira
Márcia Tânia
Maria Carolina Withaker

Also Known As:

Jungle Freaks (USA) (dubbed version)
Macunaima (USA)

Runtime:

110 min | Germany:98 min | USA:95 min

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Dolby Digital (re-issue) | Dolby SR (re-issue)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | France:-12

Company:

Condor Filmes

Soundtrack:

Mandu Sarará

Not particularly good, but certainly different

I'm a huge fan of the films of Jose Mojica Marins, aka Coffin Joe, so I've been interested for a while in seeing the other films of the Brazilian New Wave. Like the music of the time, they're experimental, often surreal, occasionally sloppy, and highly politicized. After reading about this film in both "Shock Cinema" and Amos Vogel's classic book "Film as a Subversive Art" (still the best tome on experimental and avant-garde film-making), I decided to give "Macunaima" a go. It's pretty much like I expected it to be. The film itself drags and features muddled political messages, with an unlikable jerk as a supposed hero. However, its certainly surreal and unique enough to warrant a viewing.

They say humor often doesn't translate from culture to culture, and this film is a good example. Apparently, this was meant to be a Marx Brothers style farce with leftist political undertones, and while I picked up on the politics, I didn't really find myself laughing. However, the film is very campy and becomes even more surreal because of how alien it's style is to my American eyes. I can honestly say I've never seen anything quite like this film. There's constantly bizarre scenes on the level of anything by Lynch or Bunuel, and since I assume that was an intention of the filmmaker, the film can be considered some kind of a success. Its worth watching for those looking for something different. (7/10)