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Black God, White Devil

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Wikipedia article




{{Infobox film

| name = Black God, White Devil

| image = Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Glauber Rocha

| producer = Luiz Augusto Mendes

| writer = Glauber Rocha

| starring = Geraldo Del Rey
Yon Magalhes
Othon Bastos

| music = Srgio Ricardo

| cinematography = Waldemar Lima

| editing = Glauber Rocha
Rafael Justo Valverde

| studio = Copacabana Filmes

| distributor = Herbert Richers
Copacabana Filmes

| released =

| runtime = 120 minutes

| country = Brazil

| language = Portuguese

}}

'Black God, White Devil' (; literally, 'God and the Devil in the Land of the Sun') is a 1964 Brazilian film directed and written by Glauber Rocha. The film stars Othon Bastos, Maurcio do Valle, Yon Magalhes, and Geraldo Del Rey. It belongs to the Cinema Novo movement, addressing the socio-political problems of 1960s Brazil. The film was released on DVD in North America for the first time by Koch-Lorber Films.

Plot



The film starts in the 1940s, during another drought in the serto, when ranch hand Manoel (Geraldo Del Rey) is fed up with his situation. His boss tries to cheat him of his earnings and Manoel kills him, fleeing with his wife, Rosa (Yon Magalhes). Now an outlaw, Manoel joins up with a self-proclaimed saint who condones violence (at one point slaughtering a baby) and preaches disturbing doctrines. It is now Rosa who turns to killing and the two are on the move once again. And so it goes, the two running from one allegiance to another, following the words of others as they attempt to find a place in their ruthless land. Blending mysticism, religion, and popular culture in this symbolic and realistic drama, Rocha insists that rather than follow the external and obscure dogmas of culture and religion, man must determine his path by his own voice.

Cast



* Geraldo Del Rey as Manoel

* Yon Magalhes as Rosa

* Othon Bastos as Corisco

* Maurcio do Valle as Antonio das Mortes

* Lidio Silva as Sebastio

* Sonia Dos Humildes as Dad

* Joo Gama as Priest

* Antnio Pinto as Colonel

* Milton Rosa as Moraes (as Milton Roda)

* Roque Santos as (as Roque)

Production



Glauber Rocha was 25 years old when he wrote and began to direct the film.

Its filming took place on Monte Santo and Canudos, Bahia lasting from June 18, 1963 to September 2, 1963.

In the scene where we see Manoel (Geraldo Del Rey) carrying a huge stone over his head while climbing Monte Santo on his knees, Del Rey insisted on carrying a real stone that weighted over 20 kilos - something that worried Rocha. After the shooting, Del Rey had to take 2 days off, due to fatigue.

During the dubbing of the sound, Othon Bastos performed three voices. Besides dubbing himself as Corisco, he performed the voice for Lampio (whom Corisco had "incorporated") and also dubbed Sebastio, the black God, even though Ldio Silva played the character on screen.

Reception



Critical reception



Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 100%, based on , with a rating average of 8.5/10.

A. H. Weiler from 'The New York Times' praised the film, calling it "Simple, black-and-white, more arresting as a shocking polemic than as memorable drama." Ted Shen from 'The Chicago Reader' wrote, "The fusion of European and Afro-Brazilian elements--dialogue, exquisite black-and-white images, and music by Villa-Lobos--is startlingly original and poetical in conveying the hope and despair of the oppressed." 'Time Out Magazine' praised the film's style as being "somewhere between folk ballad and contemporary myth, since the references to Brazilian history and culture are pervasive and fairly opaque to the uninitiated".

Awards

The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival, but failed to win. It was also selected as the Brazilian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 37th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences In 2015 it was voted number 2 on the Abraccine Top 100 Brazilian films list.

See also



* List of submissions to the 37th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film

* List of Brazilian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

References




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