Top 40+ Brazilian movies
Top 40 Brazilian movies, in my opinion (unordered)
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- DirectorKarim AïnouzStarsLázaro RamosMarcelia CartaxoFlavio BauraquiLoose portrait of João Francisco dos Santos, also known as Madame Satã, a sometime chef, transvestite, lover, father, hero and convict from Rio de Janeiro.
- DirectorGlauber RochaStarsGeraldo Del ReyYoná MagalhãesOthon BastosAfter killing his employer when he tries to cheat him out of his payment, a man becomes an outlaw and starts following a self-proclaimed saint.
- DirectorMarcelo GomesStarsJoão MiguelPeter KetnathMadalena AcciolyA road movie about a German man who went to the Northeast of Brazil in 1942 to sell Aspirin.
- DirectorWalter SallesStarsFernanda MontenegroVinícius de OliveiraMarília PêraThe emotive journey of a former schoolteacher who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.
- DirectorPaulo CaldasLírio FerreiraStarsDuda MambertiLuiz Carlos VasconcelosAramis TrindadeA Lebanese photographer living in Brazil in the '30s manages to take pictures of Lampião, a legendary Brazilian outlaw, kind of a tropical Robin Hood.
- DirectorHeitor DhaliaStarsSelton MelloPaula BraunPaulo AlvesA pawn shop proprietor buys used goods from desperate locals--as much to play perverse power games as for his own livelihood, but when the perfect rump and a backed-up toilet enter his life, he loses all control.
- DirectorHector BabencoStarsEnrique DiazWagner MouraCaio BlatStories of crime, revenge, love, and friendship at the Carandiru Penitentiary, the largest prison in Latin America.
- DirectorCláudio AssisStarsMatheus NachtergaeleJonas BlochLeona CavalliShort stories revolving around a bar and a hotel in Recife, unveil a mosaic of exotic characters living in the Brazilian underground.
- DirectorMarcos JorgeStarsJoão MiguelFabiula NascimentoBabu SantanaIn the great restaurant of life, there are those who eat and those who get eaten. Raimundo Nonato finds an alternative way, a life of his own: he cooks in order to survive and find a place in society. He arrives in town without a penny in his pockets and starts working as help in a decadent bar, a nasty place, lost amid the urban desert. He sleeps in the storage room on the back, and under a cold neon light learns how to fry "pastel" and "coxinhas", outdoing his "master", Zulmiro, the owner of the bar. Nonato is ignorant, but talented. He knows how to work the kitchen, soon others realize it too. The first one to notice him, is Iria, a prostitute, who doesn't know how to cook but loves to eat and starts an affair with him. Then, Giovanni, the owner of the Boccaccio (an Italian restaurant in the neighborhood), offers Nonato a job as his apprentice. A turn of events results in Nonato spending time in prison. For the prisoners and their boss, the violent Bujiù, Nonato is a savior; in fact soon their meager meals turn to a feast of exotic dishes orchestrated by Nonato's magic. As a consequence of this, Nonato is given the following the nickname, a well suited one indeed: Rosemary.
- DirectorAnna MuylaertStarsAry FrançaEtty FraserIsabela GuascoDurval and his mother Carmita live at the back of "Durval Discos", a record store they own in São Paulo, specializing in vinyl records. They lead a boring and unattractive life, until the day Durval hires a maid, Celia, to help his mother with the housekeeping. However, on her second day, Celia goes away leaving a 5-year-old child behind, Kiki, and a note promising to be back in a couple of days. Durval and Celia are charmed by the child at first, but soon they see some sad news about Celia and Kiki on TV that will change the whole situation.
- DirectorNeville de AlmeidaStarsSonia BragaNuno Leal MaiaJorge DóriaCarlos and Solange, childhood sweethearts, marry after a chaste courtship. On their wedding night, Solange refuses to make love to him. First he pleads, then in anger he rapes her. She says she adores him, but, even after months of marriage, can't endure his touch. To prove to herself she's not frigid, she begins a daily routine of seducing strangers on public busses; she also takes Carlos's best friend to a motel. Carlos figures out that she's unfaithful and, armed, confronts Solange. Meanwhile, she seeks psychiatric help because she feels no remorse. Will there be violence and death, a psychological breakthrough, or more bus rides?
- DirectorSergio BianchiStarsUmberto MagnaniCecil ThiréDira PaesDissection of Brazilian problems, using six people who meet in a restaurant in São Paulo as models to illustrate political and sociological theses.
- DirectorFernando MeirellesKátia LundStarsAlexandre RodriguesLeandro FirminoMatheus NachtergaeleIn the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
- DirectorCao HamburgerStarsMichel JoelsasGermano HaiutDaniela PiepszykA boy is left alone in a Jewish neighborhood in 1970, when the World Cup coincides with political crackdowns by the military dictatorship.
- StarsAntonio CalloniGuilherme FontesLeon GoesAdaptations of 40 short stories by Brazilian playwright Nelson Rodrigues, written between 1951 and 1961. The stories were considered scandalous at the time as Rodrigues used immoral characters and black humour to satirize the hypocrisy and repression in the society's daily lives.
- DirectorLuiz Fernando CarvalhoStarsSelton MelloRaul CortezJuliana Carneiro da CunhaA young son who ran from his dominant family descends into decadence, then returns to the nest. Tyrannical fathers, incest, fierce family conflicts, and an intense visual style to match.
- DirectorJayme MonjardimStarsCamila MorgadoCaco CioclerLuís MeloBased upon the true story of Olga Benário, the German-born wife of Brazilian communist leader Luís Carlos Prestes. During the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas (1930-1945) she was arrested and sent to Nazi Germany, where she was put to death in a concentration camp. After World War II began, Vargas decided to support the Allies.
- DirectorGuel ArraesStarsAndré MattosAramis TrindadeBruno GarciaThis is the fun story of the mischievous, adventurous and conquering Leléu and the dreamy Lisbela, who loves watching American movies and dreams of movie heroes.
- DirectorLaís BodanzkyStarsRodrigo SantoroOthon BastosCássia KisA trip to the mental institution hell. This odyssey is lived by Neto, a middle class teenager, who lives a normal life until his father sends him to a mental institution after finding drugs on his pocket. The marijuana cigarette is just the final drop that exposes the family tragedy. Send to a mental institution, Neto gets to know a completely absurd, inhumane reality in which the people are devoured by a corrupt and cruel institution system. The documentary type language used by the director give this movie a sensation of realty that increases even more the impact of the emotions Neto goes through. In the mental institution, Neto is forced to mature. The transformations that he goes through change this relations with his father.
- DirectorWalter SallesStarsJosé DumontRodrigo SantoroRita AssemanyWhen ordered by his father to avenge the death of his older brother, a young man questions the tradition of violence between two rival families.
- StarsMatheus NachtergaeleSelton MelloVirginia CavendishThe adventures of friends João Grilo, a poor man a liar, and Chicó, the most cowardly of men. Both struggle for daily bread in the Northeast of Brazil and crossing for several episodes fooling all of the small village of Taperoá, in the backlands of Paraiba. Adaptation of the work of Ariano Suassuna.
- DirectorMurilo SallesStarsPriscila AssumSilvio GuindaneLarry PineTwo children flee together with a grown up from a slum in Rio because this older person has had problems with the local drug lord. They end up in the house where a rich American lives with his daughter.
- DirectorNelson Pereira dos SantosStarsCarlos VerezaGlória PiresNildo ParenteGraciliano Ramos' period he spent in prison after being considered a subversive element by the government.
- DirectorFernando MeirellesStarsJulianne MooreMark RuffaloGael García BernalA city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant white blindness.
- DirectorSergio MachadoStarsAlice BragaWagner MouraLázaro RamosLifelong friends Deco and Naldinho, who own a small steaming boat in Bahia, meet strip-dancer Karinna. Both men fall for her and their friendship is deeply shattered.
- DirectorJorge DuránStarsCaio BlatMaria FlorAlexandre RodriguesThe story of three friends in Rio de Janeiro. When a patient at the hospital where Paulo interns asks him to get in touch with her sons, the three friends are pulled out of their tranquil lives and drawn into a web of violence and police corruption.
- DirectorCarla CamuratiStarsMarieta SeveroAntonio AbujamraThales Pan ChaconA hot blooded Spanish princess plots to conquer her enemies and become queen.
- DirectorWalter SallesDaniela ThomasStarsFernanda TorresFernando Alves PintoAlexandre BorgesAfter the death of his mother, a young Brazilian decides to leave his country and travel to his mother's native land. In a foreign land, he finds love and danger.
- DirectorHelvecio RattonStarsSamuel CostaPatricia PillarRoberto BomtempoThe adventures of a nutty little boy of unique personality traits who finds comfort at his grandfather's farm after his parents are divorced.
- DirectorBruno BarretoStarsSonia BragaMarcello MastroianniAntonio CantaforaIn 1925, Nacib (Marcello Mastroianni) is the owner of a bar in a small Brazilian coastal town runs by the local colonels. He meets Gabriela (Sonia Braga) and hires her on as a cook. They soon enter a passionate relationship, fueled by his strong attraction to her sensual nature. However, he soon grows annoyed by the attention she receives. Under his best friend Tonico's (Cantafora) advice, he proposes to her, thinking it will stop the attention. After they're married, he warns her to dress and behave more modestly so they will be seen as more respectable, but she can't help but stray and he is forced to annul their marriage when he finds her in bed with none other than Tonico. Later, as both Nacib and the town begin to undergo a transformation, Nacib and Gabriela resume their relationship. The town's political ways modernize slightly and Gabriela returns as Nacib's mistress.
- DirectorZelito VianaStarsTânia AlvesJosé DumontStênio GarciaThe story of Severino, a man who tries to escape the misery and the drought prevailing in the rural backcountry of the Northeast of Brazil. He heads for Recife, passing through desert and forest regions, expecting to find a better life.
- DirectorJorge FurtadoStarsLázaro RamosLeandra LealLuana PiovaniA Brazilian photocopier operator falls in love with a girl who lives in an opposite house and spends his evenings looking at her through his binoculars.
- DirectorJosé PadilhaStarsWagner MouraAndré RamiroCaio JunqueiraIn 1997 Rio de Janeiro, Captain Nascimento has to find a substitute for his position while trying to take down drug dealers and criminals before the Pope visits.
- DirectorLírio FerreiraStarsGuilherme WeberGiulia GamJosé DumontWeatherman from a TV network goes back to his hometown, Vale da Rocha, a place in Northeast Brazil, devastated by the drought. He is forced to face the geographic elements and his own memories.
- DirectorBeto BrantRenato CiascaStarsJúlio AndradeLuiz Carlos V. CoelhoMarcos ContrerasIn Porto Alegre, the unemployed Ciro has a dull life in a simple apartment with a nameless stray dog that he had found on the streets. Ciro is supported by his parents and works every now and then in translation of Russian. When he meets the aspiring actress Marcela, who dreams on traveling to other places, they immediately fall in love for each other. However, Marcela has a lymphoma and travels for a treatment, and alone Marcelo becomes depressed and returns to his parents home.
- DirectorHaroldo Marinho BarbosaStarsLucélia SantosJosé LewgoyLuiz Fernando GuimarãesEngraçadinha is a sexy teenager, with whom every man wants to get involved, except her cousin Sílvio, the only man she loves. On Sílvio's engagement day, she seduces him at the party and becomes pregnant. But her father, Dr. Arnaldo, tells her a horrible secret, saying that her child cannot be born. A tragedy ensues.
- DirectorCarlos DieguesStarsSonia BragaMarília PêraChico AnysioJust when her family starts believing that she is dead and that they can expect a rich heritage, Tieta returns from São Paulo to her native village in Bahia, which she had been forced to leave long ago because of her involvement with a goatherd. Believed to be fabulously rich--and nobody knows how--she brings, to the great disappointment of her family, a young stepdaughter and heir. With the arrival of Tieta, turmoil enters the life of her family and their fellow villagers, most particularly those of her nephew who was promised to the Church, and the young aspiring mayor.
- DirectorBruno BarretoStarsSonia BragaJosé WilkerMauro MendonçaIn a small city of Brazil, a woman named Flor marries a man named Vadinho, but once married she finds that he is a good-for-nothing. She works teaching cooking and he takes all of her money to gamble. After Vadinho dies, Flor marries Tedoror, the owner of a drugstore. Flor is happy with her new husband but misses the love life with her previous husband. When one day the ghost of Vadhino comes back to pursue her.
- DirectorMarcelo MasagãoStarsFranz ReicheltA fascinating and poetical collage of countless images from the 20th century with the purpose of revealing matters of life and death during the era and its many social, cultural and political transformations, with the director making several statements on several issues, combining fact and fiction to compose his powerful mosaic of images along with the magnificent music of Wim Mertens. A true work of art that dares to make several questions about the human condition, its contradictions and ironies.
- DirectorMarcel CamusStarsBreno MelloMarpessa DawnLourdes de OliveiraA retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, set during the time of the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro.
- DirectorNelson Pereira dos SantosStarsÁtila IórioMaria RibeiroOrlando MacedoA poor family in the Northeast of Brazil (Fabiano, the father; Sinhá Vitória, the mother; their 2 children and a dog called Baleia) wander about the barren land searching for a better place to live, with food and work. But the drought and misery destroy their hopes.