Quilombo (1984)

Palmares is a 17th-century quilombo, a settlement of escaped slaves in northeast Brazil. In 1650, plantation slaves revolt and head for the mountains where they find others led by the aged ... See full summary »

Director:

Carlos Diegues

Writers:

Carlos Diegues, João Felicio dos Santos (novel)

Stars:

Bené Batista, Jonas Bloch, Zózimo Bulbul

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Bené Batista	...	Ibualama / Xangô
Jonas Bloch	...	Samuel
Zózimo Bulbul	...	Stone Man
Emmanuel Cavalcanti	...	Lins
Arduíno Colassanti	...	Blaer
Jorge Coutinho	...	Salé
Babaú da Mangueira
Roberto de Cleto	...	Father Mello
Aniceto do Império
Maurício do Valle	...	Dominingos Jorge Velho
Chico Díaz	...	Anunciação
Sabrina Fidalgo
Daniel Filho	...	Fernão Carrilho
Jorge Fino	...	Iabu
Vera Fischer	...	Ana de Ferro

Storyline

Palmares is a 17th-century quilombo, a settlement of escaped slaves in northeast Brazil. In 1650, plantation slaves revolt and head for the mountains where they find others led by the aged seer, Acotirene. She anoints one who becomes Ganga Zumba, a legendary king. For years, his warriors hold off Portuguese raiders; then he agrees to leave the mountains in exchange for reservation land and peace. It's a mistake. Zumbi, a warrior whose mother was killed by Portuguese and who spent 15 years with the Whites, stays in the mountains to lead Palmares. In 1694, the Portuguese import a ruthless captain from São Paulo to lead an assault on the free Blacks. Can Zumbi keep Palmares free?

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Plot Keywords:

brazil | epic | slavery | based on novel | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Goofs

(at around 1h52:07) Towards the end of the film, Zumbi tells Camuanga that there is breadfruit nearby. Impossible: this scene takes place in 1694, but breadfruit was not introduced to the New World (from Polynesia, by Capt. Bligh) until nearly a century later, in 1791.

User Reviews

An excellent film depiction, despite some creative license of Palmares and the rise of Zumbi.

This is a relatively close historical depiction of the resistance of the displaced Africans, mostly from Angola, to Brazil for use as slaves for the Portuguese. Diegues maintains historical accuracy of the quilombo(kilombo) called Palmares and the life the escaped Africans led and their struggle to lead that life far from the oppressive Portuguese. This is one of the few films which tells the story of African people actively resisting European slavers. Quilombo also follows the life of Zumbi, the death of Ganga Zumba,the initial leader of Palmares and Zumbi's rise to become the eventual leader of Palmares. For anyone looking at history and its true representation in film, this is a good start. It plays close to the vest in historical authenticity.

Details

Country:

Brazil France

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

28 March 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Quilombo

Company Credits

Production Co:

CDK, Embrafilme, Gaumont

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color