''Macunaíma'' is a 1969 Brazilian

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

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 po ...

's novel of the same name. It was released in a dubbed version for American audiences in 1972 by

New Line Cinema New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...

. On June 13 and July 12, 2005,

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n syndicates of the TV5 network aired the film in its original Portuguese with French

subtitles Subtitles are texts representing the contents of the audio in a film, television show, opera or other audiovisual media. Subtitles might provide a transcription or translation of spoken dialogue. Although naming conventions can vary, caption ...

. 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 fro ...

) 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. Selected filmography Film *1965: '' The Priest and the Girl'' - Priest *1966: '' Todas as Mulheres do Mundo'' - Paulo *1967: '' Edu, coração de ouro'' - ...

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

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

s of the

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

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

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, but are interrogated by street

terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

upon their arrival. Then, thanks to an affair with a white lady,

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

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 sh ...

), 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 that had ensued.

Cast

as black Macunaíma *

as white Macunaíma/Macunaíma's mother *

as Ci * Jardel Filho 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 Festiva ...

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 * Maria Lúcia Dahl *Myriam Muniz

References

External links

Macunaima
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

1960s fantasy comedy films 1969 films Brazilian fantasy comedy films Brazilian 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 Films scored by Heitor Villa-Lobos 1960s Brazilian films {{1960s-comedy-film-stub