Caramuru: The Invention of Brazil (2001)
Diogo Álvares, a Portuguese map illustrator, reaches the Brazilian coast, after his caravel sinks. He is saved by the Indian chief Itaparica and his two daughters, Paraguaçu and Moema. They call him Caramuru and together they engage in a happy love triangle. But the chance to return to Portugal arises, and it is clear this amoral arrangement cannot last.
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Masterful Movie
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.
A humorous way to tell the story of Brazil, a film with our way Macunaíma de ser, a film that makes you know some facts in a bizarre way, being a pleasant and engaging film.The filmmaker is the Pernambuco Guel Arraes, who develops exquisite works, many on TV and some pearls in the cinema, started with an already commented the O Auto da Compadecida 2000, one a hilarious story and the other a novel similar to this one of this post, a hilarious film, great called: Lisbela and the Prisoner (2003). The protagonist is the actor who also directs some works like "The Clown" and acted in an international film called Trash: The Hope Comes from the Garbage (2014).
This kind of video-clip aesthetics is based on coarse humor plus quick editing cuts plus total indifference to period fidelity. 'Caramuru' ridicules Brazilian colonial history. Allegedly, it is therefore a farce. Quite unfunny, to say the least. Its action is in the 16th century but the film emphasizes 20th-century Carnival pageants. Inaccuracy on purpose? What difference does it make? Clothes are ridiculous. On purpose? Anyway, Bad humor + Awkward narration + Excessive histrionics + Pseudo-genius touch equals low-brow audience success plus middle-brow critical commendation, with perhaps a little touch of toadyism.
There's no doubt Brazil has made really good comedies in recent years. Director Guel Arraes is one of the symbols of this success. After the great performance of "O Auto da Compadecida", he made this "Caramuru - A Invenção do Brasil". It's a joke of Brazilian colonization where Portuguese people and Indians live (in the film, of course) funny situations and the historical facts are full of ironies and fun. The cast includes some of the best actors and actresses of Brazil, what makes the story even more attractive.