Cinema
Macunaíma
Joaquim Pedro de Andrade · 1969
Synopsis
Macunaíma is born already grown, and black, to an old woman, in a hut in the forest. A liar and a cheat, lazy but resourceful, he keeps the heart of a mischievous child. After his mother's death, a magic fountain turns him white, and he leaves for the big city with his two brothers. There he has an affair with Ci, an urban guerrilla, who bears him a son. He then sets out in search of a magic stone held by a wealthy city dweller.
Context
Based on the novel of the same title published in 1928, the film transposes the hero to the Brazil of the dictatorship, of the counterculture and of uneven modernisation. Grande Otelo plays the black Macunaíma, Paulo José the white Macunaíma and his mother, Dina Sfat the guerrilla Ci. It borrows from the chanchada its bawdy humour and its popular actors, and drew more than two million spectators according to Senses of Cinema. The censors demanded only a few cuts of nudity. A dubbed version was released in the United States in 1972, and the film was re-released internationally in 2009.
Who it is for
A comedy of one hundred and ten minutes, which assumes the legend of the hero without character is already known; the original version is the safest.
Prizes and reception
The first great popular success of Cinema Novo, ranked in 1998 sixteenth among the best Brazilian films by the magazine Manchete.