''Antônia'' is a 2006 Brazilian drama

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), 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 serv ...

which tells the story of Antônia, an

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians (; ), also known as Black Brazilians (), are Brazilians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Most multiracial Brazilians also have a range of degree of African ancestry. Brazilians whose African features are mo ...

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

formed by four young women living on a ''

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil. The term, which means slum or ghetto, was first used in the Slum of Providência in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was b ...

'' of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

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

violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...

near their homes and the ''

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

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

Santo André Santo ('saint' in various languages) may refer to: People * Santo (given name) * Santo (surname) * El Santo, Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (1917–1984), Mexican wrestler and actor * Bob Santo or Santo, stage name of Ghanaian comedian John Evans Kwad ...

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

Rotterdam International Film Festival International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, ...

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

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on September 21, 2007, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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

;

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, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, and

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

from 02 Filmes and

Rede Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965 ...

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 us ...

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 and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

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-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

. Duda's exposed

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

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 a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

, 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 ce ...

. 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 grandfather, ...

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

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

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: Academic criticism by film scholars, who study the composition of film theory and publish their findin ...

s. The

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website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

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

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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'' 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 2000s Brazilian films Films set in slums 2006 musical films