''Baptism of Blood'' ( pt, Batismo de Sangue) is a 2006 Brazilian film directed by

Helvécio Ratton Helvécio Ratton (born May 14, 1949) is a Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter. Filmography *''Criação'' (1978; short film) *''Em Nome da Razão'' (1979; short film) *''João Rosa'' (1980; short film) *''Um Homem Público'' (198 ...

, based on

Frei Betto Carlos Alberto Libânio Christo (born 1944), better known as Frei Betto is a Brazilian writer, political activist, philosopher, liberation theologian, and former Dominican friar. Life Frei Betto was born on 25 August 1944 in Belo Horizonte. A ...

's book of the same name. Starring Caio Blat and Daniel de Oliveira as

Frei Tito Tito de Alencar Lima, O.P. (better known as Frei Tito; 14 September 1945 – 10 August 1974) was a Brazilian Dominican friar who was severely tortured during his country's rule by a military dictatorship. This torture eventually led to his suic ...

and Betto respectively, it follows the Dominican friars' resistance against

Brazilian military dictatorship The military dictatorship in Brazil ( pt, ditadura militar) was established on 1 April 1964, after a coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces, with support from the United States government, against President João Goulart. The Brazilian dict ...

Plot

In 1968, the Dominican

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

s of São Paulo became part of the resistance against the military dictatorship in Brazil. Under the pseudonyms of "

Tito Tito may refer to: People Mononyms * Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman * Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journ ...

", " Betto", "Oswaldo", "Fernando", and "Ivo", the friars join the

Ação Libertadora Nacional The National Liberation Action (''Ação Libertadora Nacional'', ALN) was a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist Urban guerrilla warfare, urban guerrilla group in Brazil which fought against the Military dictatorship in Brazil, Brazilian military dic ...

, a communist guerrilla movement headed by

Carlos Marighella Carlos Marighella (; 5 December 1911 – 4 November 1969) was a Brazilian politician, writer, and guerrilla fighter of Marxist–Leninist orientation. He was accused of engaging in "terrorist acts" against the Brazilian military dictatorshi ...

. The friars' superior, Diogo, recommends them to be more careful, and they decide to disperse themselves. Ivo and Fernando go to Rio de Janeiro but are intercepted and tortured by officers who accuse them for betraying the Church and Brazil. The officers ask about the place where they receive calls from their leader, and eventually they reveal it. After intercepting a conversation, the police headed by

Sérgio Paranhos Fleury Sérgio Fernando Paranhos Fleury (19 May 1933 – 1 May 1979) was a Brazilian police deputy during the Brazilian military dictatorship. He was chief of ''DOPS'', the Brazilian "", that had a major role during the years of the Brazilian military g ...

discover where Marighella will be and kill him. Meanwhile, Betto is captured in

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

, and is arrested at the penitentiary Tiradentes in São Paulo along with the other friars. The friars are later judged and sentenced to four years of imprisonment. Tito is the only who is released in exchange for the West German ambassador in Brazil, Ehrenfried von Holleben, being exiled in France. He is psychologically shaken by the fact that he was tortured, and also because his attempt of suicide during the torture sessions was labeled as a coward act by Fleury. In 1974, he commits suicide in

Éveux Éveux () is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. See also * Sainte Marie de La Tourette *Communes of the Rhône department The following is a list of the 208 communes of the Rhône department of France. This list does not i ...

Cast

* Caio Blat as

* Daniel de Oliveira as

Cássio Gabus Mendes Cássio Gabus Mendes (born 29 August 1961) is a Brazilian actor. Career Debuted on TV in the telenovela ''Elas por Elas'', in 1982, and participated in the telenovelas ''Ti Ti Ti'', '' Vale Tudo'', ''Tieta'' and ''A Indomada'', and others. H ...

* Ângelo Antônio as Frei Oswaldo *Léo Quintão as Frei Fernando *Odilon Esteves as Frei Ivo *Marku Ribas as

Marcélia Cartaxo Marcélia Cartaxo (born 27 October 1963) is a Brazilian actress. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television shows since 1985. She won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 36th Berlin International Film Festival for her role in ''Ho ...

as Nildes *Murilo Grossi as Raul Careca *Jorge Emil as Frei Diogo

Production

Most of scenes of ''Baptism of Blood'' were shot in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

that simulated

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 GaWC a ...

. The friars' imprisonment was filmed in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, while Tito's exile was shot in France. Differently from other films about the period, the director wanted the torture scenes to be not be merely illustrative. The scenes were reimagined, and Ratton said "or woulddo something shocking, as is the story, or would not do the film." The friars Betto, Fernando, and Ivo did a lecture about the 1960s Brazil and student activism to the cast.

Reception

It was first screened at the 39th

Festival de Brasília A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

, where it won the Best Director and Best Cinematography awards.

References

External links

* {{Helvécio Ratton 2006 films 2006 drama films Brazilian drama films Films about Brazilian military dictatorship Films about Catholicism Films about suicide Films based on Brazilian novels Films directed by Helvécio Ratton Films set in 1968 Films set in 1974 Films shot in France Films shot in Minas Gerais Films shot in Rio de Janeiro (city) 2000s Portuguese-language films