''Eles Não Usam Black-tie'' (internationally released as ''They Don't Wear Black Tie'') is a 1981 Brazilian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Leon Hirszman Leon Hirszman (22 November 1937 – 15 September 1987) was a Brazilian filmmaker, producer and screenwriter, and one of the main figures of Cinema Novo. A member of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), his work was marked by the influence of ...

, based on

Gianfrancesco Guarnieri Gianfrancesco Sigfrido Benedetto Marinenghi de Guarnieri (August 6, 1934 – July 22, 2006) was an Italian–Brazilian actor, lyricist, poet and playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a fo ...

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

of the same name. In 2015, the Brazilian Film Critics Association aka Abraccine voted ''They Don't Wear Black Tie'' the 14th greatest Brazilian film of all time, in its list of the 100 best Brazilian films.

Plot

The film revolves around a working-class family in São Paulo in 1980. Otávio, a

syndicalist Syndicalism is a labour movement within society that, through industrial unionism, seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes and other forms of direct action, with the eventual goal of gainin ...

leader, and Romana are the parents of Tião, whose girlfriend, Maria, becomes pregnant. Fearing to be fired and thus unable to support his now fiancée, Tião does not participate on a strike, which starts a series of family conflicts.

Cast

as Otávio *

Fernanda Montenegro Arlette Pinheiro Esteves Torres ONM (née da Silva; born 16 October 1929), known by her stage name Fernanda Montenegro ( eɦˈnɐ̃dɐ mõtʃiˈnegɾu, is a Brazilian actress. Considered by many as the greatest Brazilian actress of all time, ...

as Romana * Carlos Alberto Riccelli as Tião *

Bete Mendes Bete Mendes (born Elizabeth Mendes de Oliveira; 11 May 1949) is a Brazilian actress and politician. Biography Early life Bete Mendes was born Elizabeth Mendes de Oliveira in Santos, São Paulo. She is the daughter of Osmar Pires de Oliveira, ...

as Maria *

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 Bráulio *

Francisco Milani Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comm ...

as Sartini *

Lélia Abramo Lélia Abramo (February 8, 1911 – April 9, 2004) was an Italian-Brazilian actress and political activist. Biography Daughter of Italian immigrants, Abramo was born and died in São Paulo, but lived in Italy from 1938 to 1950, suffering throug ...

as Maria's mother *

Fernando Ramos da Silva Fernando Ramos da Silva (29 November 1967 – 25 August 1987) was a Brazilian actor who became known for his role in Hector Babenco's 1981 film '' Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco'', a documentary-style account of the street children of Brazil. Da Si ...

as Maria's brother

Reception

The film entered the competition at the

38th Venice International Film Festival The 38th annual Venice International Film Festival was held on 2 to 12 September, 1981. Italian writer and journalist Italo Calvino was the Jury President of the main competition. The Golden Lion winner was ''Marianne and Juliane'' directed by M ...

, in which won the Special Jury Prize. It won the Best Film Award at the 3rd

Havana Film Festival The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Latin American filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as ''Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana,'' and in English as International Festiv ...

, at the 26th

Valladolid International Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

, and shared it with ''

Plae Kao ''Plae Kao'' (, ; literally, 'old wound'), also known as ''The Scar'', is a 1977 Thai romantic drama film directed by Cherd Songsri and starring Sorapong Chatree and Nantana Ngaograjang as two peasants in rural Thailand in a tragic, romantic re ...

'' at the 3rd

Three Continents Festival The Three Continents Festival ( French: ''Festival des 3 Continents'') is an annual film festival held since 1979 in Nantes, France, devoted to the cinemas of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It was founded by Philippe and Alain Jalladeau.

References

External links

* 1981 films Brazilian drama films Films about the Brazilian military dictatorship Brazilian films based on plays Films set in 1980 Films set in São Paulo Venice Grand Jury Prize winners Films about the labor movement 1981 drama films 1980s Portuguese-language films Films scored by Radamés Gnattali 1980s Brazilian films {{1980s-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Reception

References

Further reading

External links