7/10
Little Gem
16 October 2006
While waiting in a bar for a boat to cross a river, a man tells the story of Javé, a small town in the country of Bahia doomed to be submerged by the waters of a hydroelectric dam. When the illiterate dwellers of Javé find that their village will be flooded, they decide to "scientifically" document the story of Javé to show the historical importance of the place and present motives to stop the construction of the hydroelectric. However, only the former postman and persona non-grata Antônio Biá (José Dumont), who used the intimacy of the villagers to save his job in the post office, can write, but the population assigns him to register in a book the report of the remembrances of the storytellers.

"Narradores de Javé" is a funny and dramatic simple story supported by a good and original screenplay, great direction and excellent performances of the cast formed by actors, actresses and amateurish simple persons. This low-budget movie presents a great political final speech of Antonio Biá, in one of the best moments of this little gem, when he shows the lack of importance of them to the powerful.

In addition to the awards listed in IMDb, this movie was also awarded in the following festivals: (1) three categories in the Rio Film Festival (Best Film – Popular Jury; Best Film – Official Jury; Best Actor – José Dumont); (2) nine Awards in the Recife Film Festival ("Cine PE - Festival do Audiovisual 2003") with seven "Troféus Calunga" (Best Film, Best Direction, Best Edition; Best Actor (José Dumont), Best Support Actor (Gero Camilo), Best Sound Edition and Best Support Actress (Luci Pereira)) plus one award of the Critics and the Prize Gilberto Freyre); and (3) Best Movie in the 5th Festival des 3 Amériques 2004, Québec, Canada. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Narradores de Javé" ("Narrators of Javé")
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