''Antônia'' is a 2006 Brazilian drama

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as brea ...

which tells the story of Antônia, an

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians ( pt, afro-brasileiros; ) are Brazilians who have predominantly African ancestry (see " preto"). Most members of another group of people, multiracial Brazilians or ''pardos'', may also have a range of degree of African ancestry. ...

hip-hop

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of wh ...

formed by four young women living on a ''

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who had ...

'' of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

. On their way to the mainstream success, they have to face with the

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...

near their homes and the ''

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers pri ...

'' of the musical business. The film was directed by

Tata Amaral Tata Amaral (born 1960, in São Paulo) is a Brazilian director, writer, producer and actress. She has won various awards across South America, including 'Best director' and 'Best film'. At a young age, Tata lost the father of her daughter. As a ...

and stars

Negra Li Negra Li (born Liliane de Carvalho, São Paulo, September 17, 1979) is a Brazilian singer, actress and dancer. She was one of the lead actresses in the 2006 musical drama film '' Antônia''. She has sold over 300,000 copies and her net worth is ...

, Cindy Mendes, Leilah Moreno and Quelynah as the members of the group. It was shot in Santo André,

. The film had its European premiere January 26, 2007 at the 36th

Rotterdam International Film Festival The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental fi ...

, in the section "Cinema of the World: Time & Tide". It was released commercially in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

on September 21, 2007, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

;

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

, and

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. The movie, spun off from a 2006 short by Amaral, in turn spun off a

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

from 02 Filmes and

Rede Globo TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV stati ...

in the filmmaker's native Brazil, starring the same actors in the same roles.''Box Office'' (Sept. 21, 2007): Review by Tim Cogshell
/ref>

Plot

On Vila Brasilândia, a ''

'' (shanty town) of São Paulo, four

girls battle to fulfill their dream of making a living off their music. Friends since the childhood, Preta (Negra Li), Bárbarah (Leilah Moreno), Mayah (Quelynah) and Lena (Cindy Mendes, a.k.a. Maria Madalena, as Cindy) quit singing the

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

for a male rap group and form Antônia, their own group. Discovered by the smooth-talking manager Marcelo Diamante (Thaíde), they begin to sing rap, MPB,

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

in bars and in middle-class parties. Preta is the deep-voiced mother of a young daughter, Emília (Nathalye Cris). Mayah is the most sexually provocative though single and the high-voiced Lena lives alone with her boyfriend. Bárbarah is the sister of Duda (Chico Santo), an athletic young man with whom she frequently practices

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preser ...

. Duda's exposed

homosexuality Homosexuality is Romance (love), romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romant ...

brings a rising action into the story in which his gay partner is killed by a gang and Duda himself injured. Duda, however, recovers; despite this sudden crisis, the future begins to look bright again as the band Antônia begins to take flight. Just when the dream of the quartet seems to becoming true, their hopes are dashed by daily events, such as

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

, male oppression, and further street violence, which threaten the group and place the young women's friendship in jeopardy. The conflict begins when Mayah flirts with Preta's estranged husband Ermano (Fernando Macário), and Preta forces Mayah out of the group, deciding to raise Emília by herself with the help of her parents. Next, Lena reveals that she is pregnant and must quit the group after her boyfriend, who originally wanted an abortion, puts pressure on her to do so if they are to raise the child. Bárbarah, meanwhile, is walking home one night with Preta when she is confronted and harassed by a young member of the same gang who attacked her brother; she defends herself using martial arts, throwing him heavily to the ground and resulting in his hospitalization. The boy dies in the hospital and Bárbarah is arrested and imprisoned for

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

. Preta, who struggles with her own personal troubles and the strain of raising her child alone, is the final member of Antônia left. At last unable to feel any desire to continue the group or rise to fame (as Marcelo encourages) if her friends cannot be with her, she goes to Mayah's house to apologize and reconcile. They, along with Lena, visit a grateful, teary-eyed Bárbarah in prison; they decide to spend their time with her writing a song about their experiences. The scene changes to some point in the future in which all four members of Antônia are back together, singing onstage a liberation-themed song, ''Antônia''.

Cast

The cast includes real-life Brazilian rap singers Negra Li and Thaide; black-music singer Leilah Moreno; actress, MC, and free style rapper Cindy, and rapper-dancer Quelynah. Appearing in one scene each, as Preta's parents, are

Sandra de Sá Sandra Cristina Frederico de Sá (born August 27, 1955) is a Brazilian singer and songwriter. Sandra was born in the Pilares neighborhood, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, the daughter of Jurema and Nonô de Sá. Sandra's maternal grandfathe ...

, "the leading lady of Brazilian funk", and Thobias da Vai-Vai, a leading

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

performer. *Preta - Negra Li *Lena - Cindy Mendes, a.k.a. Maria Madalena (as Cindy) *Barbarah - Leilah Moreno *Mayah - Quelynah *Dante - Marcus Vinicius Kamau *DJ Anjo - DJ Negro Rico *DJ Cocão - DJ Hadji *Marcelo Diamante - Thaíde *Apresentador show - Adielson Bonam *Ermano - Fernando Macário *Eduardo "Duda" de Souza - Chico Santo *JP - Maionezi *Robinho - Ezequiel Da Silva *Emília - Nathalye Cris *Grupo Black Gero - Black Gero, Bira Black, DJ Celo *M.C. Brasilândia - Max B.O. *Z'Africa Brasil - M.C. Gaspar, Fernandinho Beat Box, Funk Buia, Dj Tano, Pitcho *Coral Evangélico - Paola Lúcio, Carmelita Moren, Creuza Vangelista, André Mota, Nestor, Paixão De Jesus, Patrick Rocha *Mãe De Preta - Sandra de Sá *Pai De Preta - Thobias da Vai-Vai *Barão - Barão H.C. *Hot-Dog vendor- Luana A-T.A.L. *Noivo - Júlio Machado *Roberta - Odara Carvalho *Doctor - Cláudio Galperin *Musician – Silveira *Zé - Valnei Damacena *Talarico - Hébano *Taxi Driver - Zenóbio Fernandes

Reception

The film received mostly positive reviews from most

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...

s. The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports a 93% "fresh" with an average rating of 7.4/10 based on 15 reviews. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that the film "explores cultural and sexual oppression with sensitivity and verve. The story may lack complexity, but it is loaded with irrepressible energy and a deep appreciation of female friendship". ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called it, "less a candy-coated inspirational pill and more a piece of solid dramatic fiction".''Variety'' (Sept. 11, 2006): Review by Robert Koehler
/ref>

Footnotes

References

Official site
(English)

( ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070630004614/http://www.indiewire.com/people/2007/09/indiewire_inter_107.html Archive

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Antonia 2000s musical drama films 2006 films Brazilian musical drama films Favelas Films about race and ethnicity Films shot in São Paulo (state) 2000s Portuguese-language films Gay-related films 2006 drama films