Brazzil
February 2003
Cultural Pulse

Plays, movies &
best-seller books 

PLAYS

RIO

O Exercício (The Exercise)—How a couple of actors deal with their tension the day before their première. Written by Lewis John Carlino, directed by Mônica Lazar with Luciano Szafir and Larissa Bracher.

Vamos Sair da Chuva Quando a Bomba Cair (We'll Get Out the Rain When the Bomb Falls)—Ângela, an independent woman and Hassin, the romantic bum meet and start a romance. Written and directed by Mário Bortolotto with Bartolotto and Fernanda D'Umbra.

Vida Dupla (Double Life)—A ménage à trois involving two gay men and a woman in the jungle of a big city. Written and directed by Cadu Fávero, with Felipe Martins, Bruno Padilha and Luísa Thiré.

Capitanias Hereditárias (Hereditary Captaincies)—After embezzling a huge amount of money, a trio composed by an unscrupulous banker, his partner, plus the sister-in-law try to leave the country. Written by Miguel Falabella and Maria Carmem Barbosa, with José Wilker, Ney Latorraca and Natália do Valle.

Norma (Norma)—A problematic and solitary fiftyish woman meets an outgoing young men and things start to happen. Written by Tônio and Dora Castellar, with Ana Lúcia Torre and Eduardo Moscovis.

SÃO PAULO

O Analista Machão de Bagé (Bagé's Macho Analyst)—Paulistano actor Cláudio Cunha is back on the stage after a three-year break interpreting his hilarious creation, a psychoanalyst. Written, directed and starred by Cláudio Cunha, with newcomer Thaís Lima.

Memorial do Convento (Convent's Memorial)—The adventures of Father Bartolomeu de Gusmão ("the flying priest" - 1685-1724) and his flying machine. Adapted by José Sanchis Sinisterra from José Saramago's 1982 Memorial do Convento, which was published in English in 1988 as Baltasar and Blimunda. Directed by Christiane Jatahy, with Letícia Sabatella, Caio Junqueira and Fernando Alves Pinto.

Auto da Paixão e da Alegria (Passion and Joy Morality Play)—Four saltimbancos (acrobats) tells about Jesus passage throughout the Northeastern sertão (backlands). Written by Luis Alberto de Abreu and directed by Ednaldo Freire. Four actors - Aiman Hammoud, Edgar Campos, Mirtes Nogueira and Luti Angelelli play 20 characters.

Interior (Interior)—Thirteen actors from Grupo Tusp tell their intimate secrets: one is gay, another one is a single mother's daughter. Everything's supposed to be real. The confessions are interspersed with songs by Rita Lee, Secos & Molhados, Zé Rodrix and Walter Franco. Written and directed by Abílio Tavares.

Intimidade Indecente (Indecent Intimacy)—A couple reveal on stage with humor and drama their marriage crisis. The text written by Leilah Assumpção gave the author the 2001 prize for best play from the Associação Paulista de Críticos. Directed by Regina Galdino, with Irene Ravache and Marcos Caruso.

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MOVIES

Just-released or re-released English-language movies:

007 - Um Novo Dia Para Morrer (Die Another Day), A Onda dos Sonhos (Blue Crush), Assunto de Meninas (Lost And Delirious), Casamento Grego (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Doidas Demais (The Banger Sisters), Downtown 81 (Downtown 81), Escrito nas Estrelas (Serendipity), Femme Fatale (Femme Fatale), Harry Potter e a Câmara Secreta (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), O Chamado (The Ring), O Senhor dos Anéis - As Duas Torres (The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers), Os Thornberrys - O Filme (The Wild Thornberrys Movie), Planeta do Tesouro (Treasure Planet), Stuart Little 2 (Stuart Little 2), Um Amor para Recordar (A Walk to Remember)

Deus É Brasileiro (God Is Brazilian)—Brazil/2002—God decides to take a vacation, but before leaving his post, He has to find someone to take over during the break. Comedy directed by Cacá Diegues, with Antonio Fagundes, Paloma Duarte, Wagner Moura, Bruce Gomlevsky, Stepan Nercessian, Castrinho, Hugo Carvana.

Separações (Separations)—Brazil/2001—A married couple decides to take a break in their stormy relationship, but the woman very soon falls in love with another man. Romantic comedy directed by Domingos Oliveira, with Fábio Junqueira, Ricardo Kosovski, Domingos Oliveira, Maria Ribeiro, Nanda Rocha.

A Vida em Cana (Life in Sugarcane/Jail)—Brazil/2001—Documentary directed by Jorge Wolney Atalla. The hard life of Brazilian sugar cane cutters. Interviews with the workers during the harvest show a suffering group who is still full of hope and dreams.

Ônibus 174 (Bus 174)—Brazil/2002—A retelling of the infamous June 12, 2000 bus hijack in Rio de Janeiro using newsreel footage. The episode ended tragically with the hijacker and a hostage being killed by the police, after hours of fruitless negotiations.

Cidade de Deus (City of God)—Brazil/2002—Based on Paulo Lins's novel of same name. An inside picture of Rio's favela Cidade de Deus. How Dadinho e Buscapé grow up in world of drugs and crime. Directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund, with unknown actors, including Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino da Hora, Seu Jorge, Matheus Nachtergaele, and Phellipe Haagensen.

Edifício Master (Master Building)—Brazil/2002—A documentary showing a week in the lives of people living in the Master building in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. Directed by Eduardo Coutinho.

Janela da Alma (Soul's Window)—Brazil/2001—Documentary on vision problems and its impact on life and creativity. Among the interviewees: writer José Camargo, German filmmaker Win Wender, and musician Hermeto Pascoal. Directed by João Jardim and Walter Carvalho.

Lara (Lara)—Brazil/2002—The story of actress Odete Lara, a Brazilian sex symbol in the '60s. Her spritual journey and fight to excel as an artist. Directed by Ana Maria Magalhães, with Maria Manoela, Christine Fernandes, Caco Ciocler, and Tuca Andrada

Madame Satã (Madam Satan)—Brazil-France/2002—The life of João Francisco dos Santos, who became famous in the 1930s and 1940s in Rio interpreting Madame Satã, a character created by him. Black, poor and gay, the artist spent 10 years in jail before rising to fame. Directed by Cearense (from Ceará state) Karin Aïnouz, with Lázaro Ramos, Marcélia Cartaxo, Flávio Bauraqui, Fellipe Marques, Renata Sorrah, Floriano Peixoto, and Emiliano Queiroz.

Adágio ao Sol (Adage to the Sun)—Brazil/1996—A couple in the early 1930s try to maintain a difficult relationship made even harder by the arrival of a young man. The background is the São Paulo Revolution of 1932. Directed by Xavier de Oliveira, with Cláudio Marzo, Rossana Ghessa, Edwin Luisi..

Paixão de Jacobina (Jacobina's Passion)—Brazil/2002—Based on Videiras de Cristal (Crystal Vines) a book by Luiz Antonio de Assis Brasil. Jacobina is a young healer who preaches that people can save their souls by searching for equality and happiness. She foresees that the world will be consumed by purifying flames. Directed by Fábio Barreto, with Letícia Spiller, Thiago Lacerda, Alexandre Paternost, Antonio Calloni, and Caco Ciocler.
 

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BEST-SELLER BOOKS

FICTION

1. A Casa das Sete Mulheres (Record) Letícia Wierzchowski (2 _ 2)

2. Seu Creysson Vidia i Obria (Objetiva) Casseta & Planeta (1 - 11)

3. Harry Potter e o Cálice de Fogo (Rocco) J.K. Rowling (4 - 80)

4. Harry Potter e o Prisioneiro de Azkaban (Rocco) J.K. Rowling (6 - 100)

5. As Mentiras Que os Homens Contam (Objetiva) Luis Fernando Verissimo (7 - 108)

6. O Senhor dos Anéis - Edição Completa (Martins Fontes) J.R.R. Tolkien (3 - 61)

7. O Homem Duplicado (Companhia das Letras) José Saramago (5 - 10)

8. A Intimação (Rocco) John Grisham (10 - 24)

9. Cidade de Deus (Companhia das Letras) Paulo Lins (8 - 18)

10. Harry Potter e a Câmara Secreta (Rocco) J.K. Rowling (9 - 119)

NONFICTION

1. Tudo Tem Seu Preço (Vida & Consciência) Zibia Gasparetto (1 - 8)

2. A Ditadura Envergonhada (Companhia das Letras) Elio Gaspari (3 - 9)

3. Quem Mexeu no Meu Queijo? (Record) Spencer Johnson (2 - 108)

4. A Ditadura Escancarada (Companhia das Letras) Elio Gaspari (5 - 8)

5. Criando Meninos (Fundamento) Steve Biddulph (0 - 0)

6. Quem Ama Educa! (Gente) Içami Tiba (4 - 7)

7. A Semente da Vitória (Senac) Nuno Cobra (6 - 83)

8. Você É Insubstituível (Sextante) Augusto Jorge Cury (7 - 26)

9. Estação Carandiru (Companhia das Letras) Drauzio Varella (9 - 147)

10. A Arte da Felicidade (Martins Fontes) Dalai Lama (0 - 105)

The first number inside the parentheses tells the position the book was in the previous week. The second number indicates for how many weeks the book is in the list.

According to Isto É Gente - February 10, 2003 www.istoegente.com.br 

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