Portuguese Lessons

Top 10 Brazilian Movies for Teaching Portuguese

I love Brazilian cinema. I never knew how much I’d love it until I began to learn Portuguese. Because these movies were extremely fun and educational when I studied Portuguese, I want to share them with you. Thank you to Diana Menasché and the Americas Society (and to Carlos Diegues!) for inspiring this post!

1. O Mistério do Samba: “The Mystery of Samba” is a beautiful documentary, directed by Lula Buarque de Hollanda and Carolina Jabor. The film tells the history behind the famous samba school Portela, in Rio de Janeiro. The best part is that you get to see and hear the old sambistas, the Velha Guarda da Portela, as they tell their own stories. Musicians Paulinho da Viola, Zeca Pagodinho, and Marisa Monte worked together to make O Mistério do Samba a great success. If you are learning Brazilian Portuguese, this movie is a must-see. You’ll pick up a ton of interesting vocabulary and Brazilian culture, and you can watch the DVD with Portuguese subtitles. The music is maravilhosa!

2. A Velha a Fiar:

This one is a “videoclipe” — one of the earliest “short films” and a classic of Brazilian Cinema. A Velha a Fiar is a well-known children’s song. It’s similar to “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” (as you can tell if you watch the video!). It’s interesting for students of Portuguese and of Brazilian cinema. Some possible classroom discusisons are: notice how we see various different shots of the velha? First close-up on her face, then on just her hands, then a shot of the back of her head and her profile. Then we see her through the spinning wheel! What do the different angles accomplish? (Mudança o pano, plano geral, close, etc.) Como você interpreta o zoom, o close para o rosto, e depois o zoom para os dedos? Possible discussions for this clipe are endless!

And now a few more movies I LOVE:

3. Bye Bye Brasil (Carlos Diegues)–a great movie about Brazil on the cusp of the new millennium, as television is taking over. A traveling circus tries to make a profit in the Brazilian backlands.

4. Xica da Silva (Carlos Diegues, Starring Zezé Motta) (1976)–the story of the legendary slave-woman and her master who fell in love with her. A revolutionary Brazilian movie.

5. Quilombo (Also Carlos Diegues!)

6. Orfeu Negro (1959) Marcel Camus–A super-classic, with the beautiful bossa nova from Tom Jobim & Vinicius de Moraes.

7. O Que é Isso, Companheiro? (4 Days in September)–Great for showing students what life was like for students during the military dictatorship in Brazil. The stellar ensemble cast includes Alan Arkin, Pedro Cardoso, Fernanda Torres, Luiz Fernando Guimarães, and Cláudia Abreu.

8. Pixote (but it’s very sad): about a poor Brazilian street-kid who joins a group of older boys and loses his way.

9. Cidade de Deus (and Cidade dos Homens, the “sequel”)

10. Eu Tu Eles (2000) Andrucha Waddington–This one has beautiful music by Gilberto Gil and demonstrates the harsh life in the Sertão. It is funny but also very dramatic. A great example of the jeitinho brasileiro.

Many more didn’t make my top 10, and maybe should be there. Like “Dona Flor e Seus dois Maridos” and “O Testamento do Sr. Napumoceno” (1997, Franciso Manso). I want to thank Diana Menasché for her wonderful workshop here in New York, at Columbia Teachers College, in which she demonstrated the many great ways to incorporate “A Velha a Fiar” and other movies into Portuguese class. One very useful piece of advice that Diana has for all teachers who show movies is: “Antes de mostrar um filme, dá um aviso: Gente este filme é muito bom, mas tem gente se matando, e é muito triste… ou O artista nest filme é maneiro, mas ele se drogou à beça e morreu aos 30 anos!” Just be sure to tell students that you are not promoting violence, drug use, and other harmful behaviors by showing these movies, but rather that you hope students will learn more Portuguese, and more about Brazilian culture. Young students are impressionable, and it’s important to help them to interpret they materials that are presented in class so that they will understand the context of the movies.

It is truly very hard to narrow down Brazilian cinema to a “Top 10″ list, but for those of you who are interested in adding more Brazilian cinema to your Portuguese classes, fica aí a dica!