The History of Brazilian Cinema

I suppose today is as good a day as any to randomly summarize the history of Brazilian cinema as written by a film reference site, divided into sections.

The first section discusses the early days of Brazilian cinema in the early 1900s, in which “Brazilian films dominated the domestic market, and documentaries and newsreels constituted the most important filmic productions.” The choice in production was influenced by the beginning industrialization and urbanization of Brazil, when cinema was just beginning to become an industry. However, as the Hollywood industry began to encroach upon international markets, “The technical expertise and slick production values of Hollywood movies were regarded as the standard, and it served to discourage indigenous filmmaking.” The beginning era died, but films continued to be made either way.

The second section talks about the period following this, during the years of the Great Depression in which Hollywood continued to reign over the film industry. Films made in Brazil during this era were largely influenced by Hollywood, attempting to copy its style while at the same time remaining rooted in Brazilian tradition, like the chanchadas, “musical comedies inspired by Hollywood musicals but rooted in the Brazilian carnival and burlesque theater.” During this time several director specific film companies were established, like Atlântida in 1943. Most important of these companies was the Vera Cruz company. “For the first time, Brazilian cinema would be internationally distributed, with quality films and a consolidated internal market.” However, it failed later on, being overambitious for still developing Brazil.

The next section “Cinema Novo” contains a much more detailed analysis of the historical context of the 1960s. It talks about how new social thought influenced the ideas shown in Brazilian cinema, along with techniques used. Along with the new authoritarian regimes, the film industry in Brazil was deciding on a shift from the studio system, which was too expensive for the developing economy at the time. “Film journals and cine clubs fostered a critique of Brazilian cinema and a debate about whether to build a strong film industry with state support or to pursue a low-cost production system that would encourage experimentation.” The article then talks about the filming styles adopted during this period, along with the subject matter, which often involved the lower classes. Cinema Novo was limited, however, by its attempt to combine appeal to the masses and attracting political awareness. In addition, Brazilian films rarely appealed to those outside intellectual circles and the “festival circuit”. Also, this section discusses the work of a specific director, Carlos Diegues.

The next two sections go into great detail concerning the three phases of Cinema Novo. The first phase “was a formative period dominated by a sense of political urgency aptly captured by neorealist, documentary-style narratives that went out to the streets to film popular subjects.” Many films of made during this phase focused on the theme of hunger, and its connection to Brazilian culture. The first phase ended with the coup of 1964, and the second phase, despite being surrounded by military control, still flourished due to the industry being sponsored by the state, which provided equipment and funding. The section after this focuses on the third phase of Cinema Novo. “The year 1968 fragmented the artistic milieu and nurtured the emergence of new aesthetic strategies of resistance: cannibalism, Tropicalism, and the aesthetics of garbage dominated the third phase of Cinema Novo. Cannibalism was a rebellion against imperialist values, while tropicalism “rendered patriarchal, traditional cultures anachronistic using the most advanced or fashionable idioms and techniques in the world, thus producing an allegory of Brazil that exposed a real historical abyss, a junction of different stages of capitalist development.” It rejected the support of the authoritarian regime and the censorship it provided, and some filmmakers at the time were against state support altogether.

The last section summarizes the evolution of Brazilian cinema following the 1960s. Various administrations veered from supporting the film industry to cutting off support altogether, which was the case with Fernando Collor de Mello. Women filmmakers became more prevalent, and the film industry attempted to integrate with globalization, facing its problems. “One of the most obvious strategies to confront the effects of globalization is to obtain financial support from abroad, either in the form of coproductions or by securing a film's international distribution.” The article then finishes off with a list of the names of movies that tried adapting to an international audience, and films that stuck to Brazilian issues.