Brazilian cinema in the 2000s
In 1990 Brazilian president Fernando Collor de Mello closed Embrafilme, an state-owned agency created in 1969 to fund national cinema. After that, productions almost reached zero 'till mid 90s, when the so called "Retomada" (Reconquest) began. The 2000s symbolizes more a maturity period than a film school like Cinema Novo.
This is an open list about the most representative titles from these years. Suggestions are welcome.
This is an open list about the most representative titles from these years. Suggestions are welcome.
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- DirectorJosé PadilhaStarsWagner MouraIrandhir SantosAndré RamiroAfter a prison riot, former-Captain Nascimento, now a high ranking security officer in Rio de Janeiro, is swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials and paramilitary groups.
- DirectorAndré KlotzelStarsAna Lúcia TorreGermano HaiutSelton MelloElvira's blender tells her story with her husband, Onofre, who's gone missing, and makes reflections about life.
- DirectorLaís BodanzkyStarsFrancisco MiguezDenise FragaFiukMano has to deal with adolescence dilemmas and his family destruction, after his father leaves their house.
- DirectorFábio BarretoMarcelo SantiagoStarsRui Ricardo DiazGlória PiresJuliana BaroniThe true story of a working-class boy who moves to the nation's financial capital at a young age and becomes one of the most influential politicians in Brazil's history.
- DirectorAna Luiza AzevedoStarsEduardo CardosoMurilo GrossiCaroline GuedesThe countryside of Rio Grande do Sul, and high-school student, Daniel, spends a normal adolescence life with his family, studying, riding his bicycle, playing games on the Internet and expecting one day to move to the big city of Porto Alegre. Daniel has a crush on his girlfriend Mim, who has just broken up with him but is still his friend, and his best friend, Lucas, is one of the best students in São Lucas High-School. Daniel is the son of Elaine and the photographer Daniel, who left Elaine when she was pregnant and moved alone to Thailand. Daniel is raised by Elaine and his stepfather Antônio, and shares a house with his half-sister, Maria Clara. One day, Daniel receives a letter from his biological father, who has malaria, and he is reluctant to open the envelope. Later he offers to help Lucas with some duties at the school laboratory, but when the Daniel realizes that his friend is dating Mim, he blows up and breaks the laboratory, leaving the key in the door. Lucas is blamed by the headmaster and is suspended from classes and examinations. Daniel decides to tell the headmaster the truth and learns that a laptop was stolen from the lab.
- DirectorKarim AïnouzMarcelo GomesStarsIrandhir SantosA geologist is sent to an isolated region in the Northeast of Brazil to survey water sources, but begins to feel a a sense of abandonment and loneliness.
- DirectorAnna MuylaertStarsGlória PiresPaulo MiklosAlessandra ColassantiIn São Paulo, the lonely forty and something year-old guitar teacher Baby lives a tedious life in a low middle-class apartment and is addicted in her only companion, the cigarettes. She has a constant friction with her two sisters, the executive Pop and the housewife Teca, because of the inheritance of the couch of their deceased Aunt Dinah. When the musician of a barbecue place Max moves to the next-door apartment, Baby has a crush on him. Sooner they have a love affair and Baby quits smoking with the support of a fellowship. However the insecure Baby feels jealous with the relationship of Max with his former woman Estelinha that keeps stalking him. One night, Baby follows Estelinha and when she leaves the building, Baby accidentally hits her; the hit-and-run Baby calls 911 but Estelinha dies. When the doorman Chico watches the tape of the surveillance camera, he hides the VHS tape from the police. Meanwhile Max moves to Baby's apartment and she lives a conflictive situation.
- DirectorJosé Eduardo BelmonteStarsCauã ReymondCaroline AbrasJoão Miguel2006. Léo (Cauã Reymond) is a freelance journalist covering events for newspaper outside São Paulo, the city where he lives. He is in serious financial problems worsened due to payment delays. Angela (Luiza Mariani) shares the apartment with Léo and has a 6 year old boy, who is practically raised by their maid, who hardly gets paid. Depressive, she spends most of the day in bed, leaving the house at night in search of fun on decadent clubs. On a given night, Léo decides to spend the little money they have and, by chance, finds Angela, at the mercy of Sybelle (Milhem Cortaz), a transvestite with connections on the underground. She introduces him to Marcin (Caroline Abras), who dresses as a man but has woman grimaces. Soon, they become friends and decide to drink, along with Wilson (João Miguel), a taxi driver who believes to be in need of a psychiatrist. Gradually, an awkward yet strong emotional bond emerges among them, especially increased when they decide to play a highly rewarding, bu dangerous confidence game.
- DirectorBruno BarretoStarsMichel GomesCris ViannaMarcello Melo Jr.A chronicle of a real-life bus hijacking in Rio de Janeiro that occurred on June 12, 2000.
- DirectorWalter SallesDaniela ThomasStarsSandra CorveloniJoão BaldasseriniVinícius de OliveiraA story about four brothers from a poor family who need to fight to follow their dreams.
- DirectorMatheus NachtergaeleStarsDaniel de OliveiraJuliano CazarréJackson AntunesSantinho is a young man considered to be a saint after performing a miracle following his mother's suicide, in a riverside community in the Alto Amazonas.
- DirectorMauro LimaStarsSelton MelloGiulio LopesJúlia LemmertzThe true story of João Guilherme Estrella ("Johnny"), a young middle-class bon vivant who became a big-time cocaine dealer in Rio de Janeiro in the early 1990s.
- DirectorPaulo NascimentoStarsWalmor ChagasAraci EstevesIngra LyberatoA poetic film about the relationship of three generations that share the same house and the re-find of love between a man and a woman that didn't believe in a new love.
- DirectorLaís BodanzkyStarsLeonardo VillarTônia CarreroCássia KisIn an old-time dance hall (the "gafieira") in São Paulo, one evening is all it takes to meet different characters as they remember the past, live the present, wonder about the future, have fun, flirt, fight and, naturally, dance.
- DirectorSandra KogutStarsThiago da Silva MarizWallison Felipe Leal BarrosoMaria Juliana Souza de OliveiraThiago lives with his family on an isolated farm in the arid backlands of Minas Gerais, Brazil. As the story unfolds and Thiago is forced to confront separations and betrayal within the home, Thiago begins, little by little, to see and understand a place that he had never been able to before, thus slowly letting go of his innocence.
- DirectorGustavo SpolidoroStarsKarina KazueLindon Satoru ShimizuArtur PintoThe film tells the story of sixteen people in the hottest day of the year in the city of Porto Alegre.
- DirectorCarlos GerbaseStarsJúlio AndradeNilsson AspCarla CassapoSissi, the young daughter of an unemployed widower, struggles to support her family, while dreams of sharing an apartment with her boyfriend, a soccer player. Martina, who has a more stable financial situation, struggles to be desired again by her adman husband, or by whoever is around. Giane has already changed her life, and can influence Sissi's future. According to Professor Valadares, these three women are only trying to satiate their most basic appetites: Food, Sex, and Fasma.
- 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.
- DirectorMurilo SallesStarsLeandra LealFrank BorgesLuciano BortoluzziThe story of Camila, a young woman intent on becoming a writer.
- 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.
- DirectorRudi LagemannStarsAntonio CalloniOtávio AugustoDarlene GlóriaIn 2002, 12-year-old Maria, living in dire poverty with her family, is sold by her fisherman father to prostitute recruiter Seu Tadeu, who takes her to a low-class brothel in the Amazon region. While she suffers innumerable abuses, Maria only thinks of escaping the horrible conditions she's faced with.
- DirectorOtto GuerraStarsJúlio AndradeJosé Vitor CastielMichele FrantzThe story of two die-hard hippies, trying to live on today's world.
- 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.
- DirectorKarim AïnouzStarsHermila GuedesMaria MenezesZezita MatosIn order to get funds, a young woman living in the Northeast of Brazil decides to raffle her own body.
- DirectorTizuka YamasakiStarsTamlyn TomitaJorge PerugorríaAya OnoIn 1908, Titoe leaves her country, Japan, to try her luck in Brazil. Her intention is just to get rich and return in five years. But life has other plans for her.
- DirectorMarcelo GomesStarsJoão MiguelPeter KetnathMadalena AcciolyA road movie about a German man who went to the Northeast of Brazil in 1942 to sell Aspirin.
- DirectorRogério SganzerlaStarsEduardo CabúsSálvio do PradoGiovanna GoldIn the B&W first part, a customs agent, Dr. Amnésio, examines some reels of film, a documentary Orson Welles made about Brazil, and tries to confiscate the material. The color second part shows a party in which those repression agents celebrate their victory against freedom and creativity.
- 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.
- DirectorJorge FurtadoStarsDarlan CunhaSophia ReisLázaro RamosÉder is arrested when he confesses to killing a man. Duca, Éder's nephew, is only 15, but decides to prove his uncle's innocence, since he is sure that his uncle is assuming the crime in order to get his girlfriend out of prison.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorHector BabencoStarsEnrique DiazWagner MouraCaio BlatStories of crime, revenge, love, and friendship at the Carandiru Penitentiary, the largest prison in Latin America.
- 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.
- DirectorBeto BrantStarsMarco RiccaAlexandre BorgesPaulo MiklosTwo businessmen hire a hitman to kill their third partner and are then blackmailed by the hitman as he takes over their company.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorJorge FurtadoStarsAndré ArtecheAna Maria MainieriPedro FurtadoA coming of age dramatic comedy dealing with the effect that two "summers" have on the lives of several teenagers. The main story involves an innocent teenage boy and a conniving teenage girl who meet on a beach one summer in Southern Brazil. They meet up again the following summer.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorTabajara RuasBeto SouzaStarsWerner SchünemannLaura SchneiderSirmar AntunesThe story of a man that invented a country.
- 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.
- DirectorGuel ArraesStarsMatheus NachtergaeleSelton MelloRogério CardosoFollows the lives of 2 poor Brazilians and their schemes to get money and the consequences of their actions.