Another movie watched, or rather, reviewed, for the course on Cinema Novo that I'm doing in Cinema com Teoria, taught by Prof. Alisson Gutenberg.
Terra em Transe is part of the second phase of Cinema Novo. Directed by Glauber Rocha, it has an exquisite cast, all in fantastic performances: Jardel Filho (Paulo Martins), Paulo Autran (Porfírio Diaz), José Lewgoy (Felipe Vieira), Glauce Rocha (Sara), Paulo Gracindo (Don Julio Fuentes), Hugo Carvana (Álvaro), Joffre Soares (Father Gil), Danuza Leão (Sílvia), Mário Lago (Captain), Flávio Migliaccio (man of the people), Francisco Milani (Aldo).
To circumvent the censorship, which was still not as incisive as after the AI-5, Rocha set the plot in Eldorado, a fictional country located in Latin America. Porfírio Diaz, not by chance is the name of the Mexican dictator who has been in power for more than three decades, with a campaign theme that unites Catholic religion and conservatism, will run for reelection as president of Eldorado with Felipe Vieira, a populist politician. Paulo Martins is a poet who advised Porfírio, but changes sides when he realizes that he distances himself from popular agendas. Sara is his wife and balance point. It is in this political context that the story unfolds.
Glauber uses a lot of allegory to develop a plot that was a mirror of the situation experienced by Brazil, a few years after the 1964 military coup. As an allegory, it will explore situations reminiscent of a samba school parade: dancers and drums at a Felipe Vieira rally, luxurious costumes that portray the past of Eldorado, with the arrival of the white man on the country's coast (here there is a luxurious participation of Clóvis Bornay, icon of the costume parades in Rio de Janeiro), a lot of percussion in the soundtrack, in contrast with classical music, which makes a good distinction between the popular and the erudite, the flag bearer (in this case, Glauber subverts the order and puts a man, Porfírio, to carry a black flag - a sign of mourning for the situation in Brazil?, another allegory) and the parade itself with the walks of candidate Fellipe with the people.
The film also directly brings strong messages such as the scene in which Jerônimo, a representative of the people, starts to speak to Felipe, but is interrupted with Paulo Martins' hand in his mouth, saying that the people have no voice. The violence against those who demonstrated is also shown, and the most violent period of the Brazilian dictatorship had not even begun, in the scene in which the character of Flávio Migliaccio, purposely unnamed, is punched by the candidate's security (Maurício do Valle).
Another interesting contrast is between Carnival, as already exposed here, and Opera, once linked to the poorest strata of the population, to later become synonymous with the elite. The scene in which Porphyry falls with his flag on the steps of a palace is a true act of an opera.
The dialogues and monologues, especially those of Paulo Martins, are difficult to understand, with much erudition. And then Glauber didn't understand why his films didn't have an audience...
Reviewing the film, I realized its relevance, especially regarding the political context in which Brazil plunged with the result of the 2018 election.
Despite all these considerations above, which I think are very appropriate, I don't like the film, much for its audio. The noise is annoying all the time, with overlapping voices, soundtrack and ambient sound, at a volume above normal. It is often difficult to understand what the actors are saying, and understanding the dialogues requires reflection at all times. For me, it was a lot of allegory inserted in the political context, which came to be caricatured. Anyway, I recognize the importance of the film for the history of Brazilian and Latin American cinema.
