Year: 1964
Director: Glauber Rocha
Country: Brazil
Language: Portuguese
"Oh my God, Eisenstein's been reborn...and he's Brazilian!" said a Brazilian film critic as he marvelled at an early screening of Glauber Rocha's Black God, White Devil. Born in Bahla, the North-Eastern Brazilian state known for the birth of Afro-Brazilian culture, Gluaber is an almost forgotten director with a brilliant yet under-rated film. This film was inspired by the director's fascination of mysticism and American Westerns, and the creation of the influential movement known as Cinema Novo.
Glauber's tale is a fictionalized account of the adventures of hired gunman Antonio das Mortes (Mauricio Do Valle), set against the real life last days of rural banditism. The movie follows Antonio as he witnesses the descent of common rural worker Manuel (Geraldo Del Rat) into a life of crime, joining the gang of Antonio's sworn enemy, Corisco the Blond Devil (Othon Bastos), and the Pedra Bonita Massacre.
Black God, White Devil is shot in a remarkably harsh black and white that almost makes the screen glow. It is full of astonishing montage sequences and wildly energetic camera movements. Infact Waldemar Lima's weightless, dizzying camera and high-contrast lighting is essential to the film's aesthetics. Glauber shows us a country that is unraveling at the seams, it's about to explode in a chaotic mess. Another remarkable trait of the film is the unique building of a realist/expressionist/ mythological portrayal of Brazilian sertão -- the inhuman labor and life condition of the illiterate, destitute, God-fearing peasants, perennially exploited by landowners, politicians, bandits, Catholic priests and doomsday messianic "prophets"
Glauber, like many Brazilian cinephiles, found himself deeply drawn to the radical politics of his generation. Black God, White Devil is his political film, which explores the connections between historical change and violence. Most of Brazilian history before transition has been free from the incredible violence that could tear the entire nation apart. After transition-from colony to empire and so on- there has been far too much death by incredibly violent actions. Glauber's examples are focused on the many rebellions in Brazil's backlands.
In conclusion, Black God, White Devil is perhaps the most important Brazilian film ever made. It is full of thought provoking politics which will leave its audience in deep discussion long after they have seen the film. It is fair to compare Glauber to Eisenstein because both men made political films about oppressed people who need to stand up for what's right. This film is not only entertaining, but it's a call for revolution! Praise it! 5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment