''Macunaíma'' is a 1969 Brazilian

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Joaquim Pedro de Andrade Joaquim Pedro de Andrade (May 25, 1932 – September 10, 1988) was a Brazilian film director and screenwriter. He was a member of the Cinema Novo movement in Brazil. Andrade is best known for his 1969 film ''Macunaíma (film), Macunaíma'', ba ...

, based on

Mário de Andrade Mário Raul de Morais Andrade (October 9, 1893 – February 25, 1945) was a Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, and photographer. He wrote one of the first and most influential collections of modern Brazilian poetr ...

's novel of the same name. It was released in a dubbed version for

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

audiences in 1972 by

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...

. On June 13 and July 12, 2005,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n syndicates of the TV5 network aired the film in its original

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

with French

subtitles Subtitles and captions are lines of dialogue or other text displayed at the bottom of the screen in films, television programs, video games or other visual media. They can be transcriptions of the screenplay, translations of it, or informati ...

. It was rereleased internationally in 2009.

Plot

Based on the 1928 book by

, the modern-day parable follows the misadventures of a black man (

Grande Otelo Grande Otelo (October 18, 1915 – November 26, 1993) was the stage name of Brazilian actor, comedian, singer, and composer Sebastião Bernardes de Souza Prata. Otelo was born in Uberlândia, and was orphaned as a child. He kept running away from ...

) who is miraculously born to an old woman (

Paulo José Paulo José Gómez de Souza (20 March 1937 – 11 August 2021) was a Brazilian actor. TV work *2014 - ''Em Família'' *2011 - '' Morde & Assopra'' *2009 - ''Caminho das Índias'' - Profeta Gentileza *2006 - '' JK'' *2004 - ''O Pequeno Alqu ...

), who is supposed to be of the indigenous peoples of Brasil, in the

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...

s of the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

. Though born fully-grown, he has the heart of a playful child. After the death of his mother, he comes face to face with a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

that turns him white (Paulo José). With that change, he and his two brothers move to

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 ...

, but are interrogated by street

terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

upon their arrival. Then, thanks to an affair with a white lady, guerrilla killer Ci (

Dina Sfat Dina Sfat, born Dina Kutner (28 October 1938 – 20 March 1989) was a Brazilian actress born to Polish Jewish immigrants. She appeared in 46 films and television shows between 1966 and 1989. Sfat was married to actor Paulo José with whom she ...

), the film's hero fathers a black boy (Grande Otelo) with her. When both mother and child die, he embarks on a quest to recover a magical stone from a rich city dweller. In this film, the essentialist myth of the 3 Brazilian races, white, black, and the original natives of Brazil, is supposed to be represented through the protagonist, his brothers, and his mother. Throughout his adventures, Macunaíma learns some tough lessons about Brazilian life and society. Macunaima functions as an allegorical representation of the turmoil of the Brazilian

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

that had ensued.

Cast

as black Macunaíma *

as white Macunaíma/Macunaíma's mother *

as Ci *

Jardel Filho Jardel Filho (24 July 1928 – 19 February 1983) was a Brazilian film actor. He appeared in 45 films between 1949 and 1982. Filmography External links * 1928 births 1983 deaths Brazilian male film actors Brazilian people of Ital ...

as Wenceslau Pietro Pietra *

Milton Gonçalves Milton Gonçalves (; 9 December 1933 – 30 May 2022) was a Brazilian actor and television director, who was one of the most famous black actors in Brazil, having collaborated twice with acclaimed director Héctor Babenco. One notable role with ...

as Jigué *

Rodolfo Arena Rodolfo Arena (15 December 1910 – 31 August 1980) was a Brazilian actor. He appeared in 90 films between 1920 and 1980. He starred in the 1974 film '' Sagarana: The Duel'', which was entered into the 24th Berlin International Film Festival ...

as Maanape *

Joana Fomm Joana Maria Fomm (born September 14, 1939) is a Brazilian actress. Biography Joana Fomm was born in Belo Horizonte, but her mother died when she was still a baby and she was adopted by her uncles in Rio de Janeiro. Career Joana began her a ...

as Sofará *Maria do Rosário as Iriqui *

Hugo Carvana Hugo Carvana de Hollanda (4 June 1937 – 4 October 2014) was a Brazilian actor and film director. He appeared in more than 110 films and television shows between 1954 and 2014. Selected filmography Film *1955: ''Trabalhou Bem, Genival' ...

*Carmem Palhares *Wilza Carla *

Zezé Macedo Zezé Macedo (6 May 1916 – 8 October 1999) was a Brazilian comedienne and actress in radio, cinema and television, being the female record holder in Brazil for film appearances, having made over 100 films. She also published four books of poet ...

Maria Lúcia Dahl Maria Lúcia Dahl (20 July 1941 – 16 June 2022) was a Brazilian actress. Filmography *' (1965) *' (1966) *' (1967) *' (1967) *''The Brave Warrior'' (1968) *'' Macunaíma'' (1969) *'' Guerra Conjugal'' (1974) *' (1974) *' (1975) *' (1975) *' (1 ...

*Myriam Muniz

References

External links

Macunaima
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

1960s fantasy comedy films 1969 films Brazilian fantasy comedy films Epic films Films based on Brazilian novels Films directed by Joaquim Pedro de Andrade Indigenous cinema in Latin America 1960s Portuguese-language films 1969 comedy films {{1960s-comedy-film-stub