Macunaíma (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Macunaíma
Original film poster
Directed by	Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
Produced by	Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
Written by	Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
Starring	Paulo José Grande Otelo Dina Sfat Jardel Filho
Cinematography	Guido Cosulich
Editing by	Eduardo Escorel
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date(s)	1969
Running time	110 minutes
Country	Brazil
Language	Portuguese
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Macunaíma is a 1969 Brazilian comedy film produced by Filmes do Serro and directed by Joaquim Pedro de Andrade. It was released in a dubbed version for American audiences in 1972 by New Line Cinema. On June 13 and July 12, 2005, European and Latin American syndicates of the TV5 network aired the film in its original Portuguese with French subtitles.

[edit] Plot

Based on the 1928 book by Mário de Andrade, the modern-day parable follows the misadventures of a black man who is miraculously born to an old woman, who is supposed to be of the indigenous peoples of Brasil, in the jungles of the Amazon. Though born fully-grown, he has the heart of a playful child. After the death of his mother, he comes face to face with a spring that turns him white. With that change, he and his two brothers move to Rio de Janeiro, but are interrogated by street terrorists upon their arrival.

Then, thanks to an affair with a white lady, guerrilla killer Ci, the film's hero fathers a black boy with her. When both mother and child die, he embarks on a quest to recover a magical stone from a rich city dweller. In this film, the essentialist myth of the 3 Brazilian races, white,black, and the original natives of Brazil, is supposed to be represented through the protagonist, his brothers, and his mother.

Throughout his adventures, Macunaíma learns some tough lessons about Brazilian life and society. Macunaima functions as an allegorical representation of the turmoil of the Brazilian military coup that had ensued.