Macunaima

Macunaíma (Grande Otelo / Paulo José) is a lazy anti-hero born black in Amazonas. After the death of his mother, he moves with his two brothers to Rio de Janeiro, but along his journey, he baths in a fountain and becomes Caucasian. Once in Rio, he incidentally meets the killer guerrilla woman Ci (Dina Sfat), who wears an amulet made of stone, and they fall in love for each other. They live together and a couple of months later, Ci delivers a black baby. While carrying a bomb for a terrorist attack in the stroller, the bomb explodes and Ci and the baby die, and the amulet vanishes. A very strong man finds the stone and Macunaíma tries to recover it. In the end, he returns to the jungle.

"Macunaíma" is a non-sense, anarchic, crazy and surrealistic Brazilian cult-movie and I am not sure whether a foreigner may like it or not. The story is funny, and belongs to a very specific moment of the history of Brazil, with the "Cinema Novo" ("New Cinema") and "Tropicalismo" movements and the military dictatorship. Further, it is absolutely original and unique, without any reference to another movie or use of clichés. Just as a curiosity, the rigid censorship in 1969 did not allow to expose two breasts at the same time. It was permitted to show one, but not both of them. The viewer can note that specially when Dina Sfat is in the kitchen wearing no shirt. When she turns, her left breast is covered by an object that she is holding. Today (04 April 2008) I have watched this film again, now in a magnificently restored (unfortunately very expensive) DVD. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): 'Macunaíma'