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Black Orpheus Marcel Camus Marcel Camus' quintessential love story based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is set against the vivid backdrop of carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Orpheus, the streetcar conductor, falls hopelessly in love with Eurydice. Winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes as well as an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Portuguese with English subtitles; Brazil, 1958, 103 mins. DVD | $44.95
The Charcoal People Nigel Noble Academy Award-winning director Nigel Noble's devastating documentary about the peasant workers who make charcoal for Brazil's steel industry documents the injustices of economics in the world as well as any film in recent memory. Plagued by lung disease and poor nutrition, these workers still barely make a living from their backbreaking labor. The film addresses the dual exploitation of their occupation--the workers are cut down almost as severely as the rain forests their work destroys. In Portuguese with English subtitles. Brazil, 1999, 70 mins. DVD | $44.95
Chronically Unfeasible Sergio Bianchi This intelligent, if cynical, dissection of Brazilian society revolves around the interactions of six characters in a restaurant. As they grapple with their everyday personal problems, they also address issues of race, violence, corruption and class relations that affect the people of Brazil. In Portuguese with English subtitles. Brazil, 2000, 101 mins. DVD | $37.95
City of God Fernando Meirelles Fernando Merielles directed this stunning look at three decades of violence and unrest in the slums of Rio de Janiero, Brazil. A fast-paced, visual wonder, City of God flies around in time as it follows a group of youths into adulthood amidst Rio's street gangs. "Breathtaking and terrifying" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). Brazil, 2002, 131 mins. DVD | $44.95
Hour of the Star Suzana Amaral The brilliant, critically-acclaimed film by Suzana Amaral, winner at the Berlin Film Festival, based on a novel by Clarice Lispector. The neo-realistic story of a young girl who comes to Sao Paolo from the provinces to find work and love, Hour of the Star is an often funny, tragi-comic film, the breakthrough work for Suzana Amaral. In Portuguese with English subtitles. Brazil 1986 85 mins. DVD | $44.95
How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman Nelson Pereira dos Santos One of the high points of Brazil's Cinema Novo, this wicked black comedy inspired a furor at Cannes. A French explorer is captured by an Amazon tribe and tries desperately to be accepted by his captors. The tribe feeds him well - only at the end does the Frenchman realize why. A brilliant satire on the Colonialist mentality. French and Tupi with English subtitles. Brazil, 1971, 80 mins. Videocassette | $44.95 DVD | $44.95
Luzia Fabio Barreto Set on the vast and beautiful plains of central Brazil, Luzia stars the alluring Claudia Ohana (one of Brazil's biggest box-office stars: Erendira, Fable of the Beautiful Pigeon Fancier) as a cowgirl caught in a clash between squatters and the powerful ranch owners. Luzia's extraordinary rodeo skills and incredible beauty attract the attention of the landowners, whose history of marauding returns to gain revenge. Portuguese with yellow English subtitles; Brazil, 1988, 112 mins. Videocassette | $37.95
Madame Sata Karim Ainouz The underbelly of 1930's Rio de Janeiro comes alive in this portrait of Joao Francisco dos Santos, the infamous Brazilian drag queen and criminal who was as gifted with a knife as he was with a microphone. A snapshot of Joao's early life, Madame Sata follows the performer from his rough childhood on Rio's mean streets up through his imprisonment prior to becoming a star. Stars Lazaro Ramos. The DVD is letterboxed and includes a director's commentary, behind-the-scenes footage, a photo gallery, optional English and Spanish subtitles and more. In Portuguese with English subtitles. Brazil, 2002, 105 mins. Videocassette | $44.95 DVD | $44.95
Mango Yellow Claudio Assis Claudio Assis' debut film is set in an impoverished Brazilian shanty town where a wide array of sinister characters leer from every corner. Assis meticulously chronicles the sexual intrigues and violent confrontations that flourish among the city's downtrodden. What keeps these portraits and character studies from feeling oppressive and morose, however, is that Assis affords his characters dignity and self-awareness. They are "full-dimensional people in touch with their explosive feelings" (Stephen Holden, New York Times), and the effect of watching their struggle is uncomfortable but revelatory. The DVD includes interview with film scholar Richard Pena about Brazilian cinema, film notes, and director biography. In Portuguese with English subtitles. Brazil, 2002, 103 mins. DVD | $44.95
Margarette's Feast Renato Falcao Renato Falcao's feature debut harkens back to Brazil's silent cinema heyday to tell the story of a good-natured factory worker whose severance pay allows him to throw an extravagant birthday celebration for his wife. In place of dialogue Falcao decorates his feature with the rhythms of Brazilian music, and his underlit photography and beautiful compositions effortlessly evoke the achievements of early silent cinema. "Superbly updates the style of silent movies to show how the spirit of Chaplin is still with us" (FIPRESCI). DVD includes deleted scenes, director statement, historical featurette, discussion guide, and biography. Silent. Brazil 2002 80 mins. DVD | $44.95
The Other Side of the Street Marcus Bernstein Academy Award-nominee Fernanda Montenegro (Central Station) stars in a superbly acted Hitchcockian thriller. The elderly Regina (Montenegro) believes she has witnessed a murder in the building across the street from her Copacabana apartment, but because the suspect is a well-respected judge (Raul Cortez) the police have no interest in pursuing the case. Regina presses on, however, and her solo sleuthing leads to an unexpected romance with the potentially dangerous man. "A wonderful, wistful twist on Rear Window" (L.A. Weekly). In Portuguese with English subtitles. Brazil 2005 98 mins. DVD | $44.95
Possible Loves Sandra Werneck After being stood up by his girlfriend and left alone in a movie theater, a college student, Carlos (Murilo Benicio), begins to imagine what his life will be like in 15 years and how his girlfriend, Julia (Carolina Ferraz), will figure into it. Director Sandra Wernock presents three different scenarios: in the first, Carlos is a divorced, out-of-closet gay man, much to the annoyance of ex-wife, Julia; the second finds Carlos still living at home with his domineering mother and meeting Julia unexpectedly through a dating service; and in the third, Carlos is an unhappily married man whose life changes after running into his old flame, Julia. This thoroughly original story was awarded the Latin American Cinema Jury Prize at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. In Portuguese with English subtitles. Brazil, 2000, 105 mins. DVD | $37.95
The Man Who Copied Jorge Furtado The title of this fresh coming-of-age story can be taken quite literally-the protagonist Andre (Lazaro Ramos) is a clerk at a copy store in his native Brazil. At night he keeps himself occupied drawing comics and spying on his beautiful neighbor (Leandra Leel). As his obsession grows, Andre begins counterfeiting banknotes to afford dates with the young beauty--a misdeed that draws him deeper into a tangled web of crime and violence. "Utterly fresh and appealing from start to finish" (L.A. Alternative Press). In Portuguese with English subtitles. Brazil 2003 123 mins. DVD | $44.95
The Three Marias Aluisio Abranches In a remote region of 1970's Brazil, three sisters come together to avenge the death of their father and brothers. With a male assassin at each of their sides, the girls ride away to complete their mission. Combining the cinematic verve of Morricone with the mythical narrative scope of Garcia-Marquez, "this strikingly unusual movie is at once an old-fashioned melodrama, a boldly stylized spectacle, and a very grim fairy tale, acted and directed with originality and flair" (David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor). In Spanish with English subtitles. Brazil, 2002, 90 mins. DVD | $44.95
Vidas Secas Nelson Pereira dos Santos A pioneering work from Brazil's Cinema Novo, Nelson Pereira dos Santos's film follows the plight of an impoverished family who wanders the barren countryside of northern Brazil in search of food, water, work, and a place to live. Throughout the course of their journey, the harsh realities of injustice and drought slowly suffocates the family's already dimming hopes. "The work of an enormously gifted director who knows how to control his grief and rage" (Vincent Canby, The New York Times). In Portuguese with English subtitles. Brazil 1963 100 mins. DVD | $44.95
