In 1886, the young lawyer Rodrigo (Anselmo Duarte) and "Sinha Moça" (Eliane Lage) return from São Paulo in a train in the same room to their home land. Rodrigo is the son of the local abolitionist doctor, and she is the daughter of the local most powerful "colonel"(farmer), who owns many slaves. In the backstage of the period close to the freedom of the slaves on Brazil ("Lei Áurea", signed by Princess Isabel on May 13th 1988), a powerful romance develops between the progressives Rodrigo and "Sinha Moça".
"Sinha-Moça" is a masterpiece of Brazilian Cinema that deserves a more detailed review.
The movie itself is a masterpiece of the Brazilian Companhia Vera Cruz. This ambitious studio originated in 1949 in São Paulo, and hired foreigner technicians, aiming at great productions instead of the common "chanchadas". Unfortunately, the lack of a viable scheme of distribution was considered the major cause of the failure of Vera Cruz. "Sinhá-Moça" is amazingly perfect, comparable to the famous "Gone With the Wind", and unfortunately there are only five (5) votes in IMDb (six with mine today). This black and white movie has a magnificent direction of Tom Payne and Oswaldo Sampaio; the cast is outstanding, highlighting Eliane Lage (amazing how Penélope Cruz has a great resemblance with this great Brazilian actress); the photography uses shadows like in the impressionist German movies and is amazing; the screenplay romantically uses a historical moment of the history of Brazil .
With regard to the historical moment of the end of the slavery period, only a few years ago the real reasons were taught in schools. The real reasons for the signature of the "Lei Áurea" by Princess Isabel were basically two: the first one, the Portuguese government was pressed by other governments, since Brazil was one of the last countries to finish the slavery period. The second one was that to convince the owners of the slaves to accept the abolition, it can be proved that the cost of a slave (tangibles, such as price + housing + food + medical care + children and retirement, and intangible, such as uprisings and escapes and accidents) was higher than the cost of a Brazilian worker, who presently receives about US$ 100,00 per month.
This movie was awarded with the Bronze Bear in Berlin Festival among many other prizes in Veneza, Punta del Leste, Havana and many Brazilian festivals.
Last but not the least, the DVD "Sinhá Moça" is not restored, and the owners of Cinemagia deserve to be sued by the Brazilian consumers, since the sound is so damaged that many dialogs are completely lost, impossible to be understood. But "Sinhá Moça" is mandatory in any movie collection. My vote is ten.
Title (Brazil): "Sinhá-Moça" ("Young Lady" Obs: This title deserves an explanation for overseas readers. "Sinhá" was the treatment deserved to the women owners of the slaves. Mrs. in Portuguese is "Senhora", and "Sinhá" was a simplification adopted by the slaves. "Moça" means a young woman, a lady.)
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