''Memórias Póstumas'' (known in English as ''Posthumous Memoirs'' and ''Posthumous Memories'') is a 2001
comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
Machado de Assis
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short stor ...
. It follows Brás Cubas, played by
Reginaldo Faria
Reginaldo Figueira de Faria (born 11 June 1937) is a Brazilian actor and film director. He has appeared in more than 60 films and television shows since 1952. Faria's brother Roberto Farias (the 's' was added to his surname due to an error at t ...
and
Petrônio Gontijo
Petrônio Gontijo de Alvarenga (born July 5, 1968) is a Brazilian actor.Reginaldo Faria
Reginaldo Figueira de Faria (born 11 June 1937) is a Brazilian actor and film director. He has appeared in more than 60 films and television shows since 1952. Faria's brother Roberto Farias (the 's' was added to his surname due to an error at t ...
as Bras Cubas
**
Petrônio Gontijo
Petrônio Gontijo de Alvarenga (born July 5, 1968) is a Brazilian actor.Viétia Rocha as Vírgilia
*
Sônia Braga
Sônia Maria Campos Braga (; born 8 June 1950) is a Brazilian actress. She is known in the English-speaking world for her Golden Globe Award–nominated performances in '' Kiss of the Spider Woman'' (1985) and ''Moon over Parador'' (1988). She ...
as Marcela
*
Otávio Müller
Otávio Müller de Sá (born August 6, 1965), most known as Otávio Müller, is a Brazilian actor. Most known for comical roles in television, such as in the Rede Globo's series ''Tapas & Beijos'', he is also a stage actor, and film actor. On the ...
as Lobo Neves
*
Marcos Caruso
Marcos Vianna Caruso (born 22 February 1952) is a Brazilian actor, screenwriter, playwright, and stage director.
He graduated in Law from the Law School of Largo de São Francisco. He is the author of several plays written in partnership with t ...
as Quincas Borba
*Stepan Nercessian as Bento Cubas
*Débora Duboc as Dona Eusébia
*
Walmor Chagas
Walmor de Souza Chagas (28 August 1930 – 18 January 2013) was a Brazilian actor, director, and producer. He appeared in more than 50 films and television shows between 1965 and 2012. Chagas died on 18 January 2013, in his home in Guaratin ...
as Dr. Villaça
*Nilda Spencer as Dona Plácida
*
Milena Toscano
Milena Toscano Gonçalves (born January 11, 1984), is a Brazilian actress.
Career
Born in Santo André, São Paulo, Milena Toscano started her career as a model when she was ten years-old, after she was hired by the Ford Models Agency. Sh ...
as Eugênia
Production
Klotzel started to adapt the novel and search for sponsors in 1996; the production was done in 1998, and it was shot in 1999. A co-production between Brazil and Portugal, ''Memórias Póstumas'' had a budget of about R$4.5–5 million ($2,006,509–2,229,455). It was shot in about 60 filming locations at eight cities, including
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 ...
,
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 ...
Salvador
Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to:
* Salvador (name)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
*Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music
** ''Salvador'' ( ...
and
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of .
The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...
, which lasted twelve weeks.
Release and reception
Its worldwide premiere occurred at the Panorama section of the 2001
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
, and it was well received by the public. ''Memórias Póstumas'' competed at the 18th
International Film Festival of Kerala
The International Film Festival of Kerala (abbreviated as IFFK) is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy ...
, and won five awards at the 29th
Festival de Gramado
The Gramado Film Festival ( pt, Festival de Gramado) is an international film festival held annually in the Brazilian city of Gramado, Rio Grande do Sul, since 1973. In 1992, the festival began to award Latin American films produced outside of Br ...
: Best Critic's Choice Film, Best Jury's Choice Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Braga. Its release in Brazil was on August 17, 2001, and it grossed R$855,484 ($381,452) with an attendance of 186,380 people in the 57 theatres in which it was released.
It was also well received by English-language critics. Kate Blackhurst from ''The Lumière Reader'' said "I can see why it won several international film awards, and its excellence lies in the fact that it is almost impossible to explain." ''
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), ...
''s Eddie Cockrell "Andre Klotzel revisits distinctive brand of local telenovela melodrama he knows best, with spoofy results that will put pic in demand at fests. Theatrical may be a bit iffier, although vid and tube life will be spry." Writing for ''
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 ...
'',
Elvis Mitchell
Elvis Mitchell (born December 6, 1958) is an American film critic, host of the public radio show ''The Treatment'', and visiting lecturer at Harvard University. He has served as a film critic for the ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'', the ''LA Weekly ...
stated it has a "hilarious poise", adding that the film "is playful and formal".