Black God, White Devil

Black God, White Devil (Portuguese: Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol; literally, God and the Devil in the Land of the Sun) is a 1964 Brazilian film directed and written by Glauber Rocha. The film stars Othon Bastos, Maurício do Valle, Yoná Magalhães, and Geraldo Del Rey. It belongs to the Cinema Novo movement, addressing the socio-political problems of 1960s Brazil. The film was released on DVD in North America for the first time by Koch-Lorber Films.

Black God, White Devil
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGlauber Rocha
Produced byLuiz Augusto Mendes
Written byGlauber Rocha
StarringGeraldo Del Rey
Yoná Magalhães
Othon Bastos
Music bySérgio Ricardo
CinematographyWaldemar Lima
Edited byGlauber Rocha
Rafael Justo Valverde
Production
company
Copacabana Filmes
Distributed byHerbert Richers
Copacabana Filmes
Release date
  • June 1, 1964 (1964-06-01)[1]
Running time
120 minutes
CountryBrazil
LanguagePortuguese

Plot

The film starts in the 1940s, during another drought in the sertão, when ranch hand Manuel (Geraldo Del Rey) is fed up with his situation. His boss tries to cheat him of his earnings and Manuel kills him, fleeing with his wife, Rosa (Yoná Magalhães). Now an outlaw, Manuel joins up with a self-proclaimed saint who condones violence (at one point slaughtering a baby) and preaches disturbing doctrines. It is now Rosa who turns to killing and the two are on the move once again. And so it goes, the two running from one allegiance to another, following the words of others as they attempt to find a place in their ruthless land. Blending mysticism, religion, and popular culture in this symbolic and realistic drama, Rocha insists that rather than follow the external and obscure dogmas of culture and religion, man must determine his path by his own voice.

Cast

Production

Glauber Rocha was 25 years old when he wrote and began to direct the film.

Its filming took place on Monte Santo and Canudos, Bahia lasting from June 18, 1963 to September 2, 1963.[1][2]

In the scene where we see Manuel (Geraldo Del Rey) carrying a huge stone over his head while climbing Monte Santo on his knees, Del Rey insisted on carrying a real stone that weighted over 20 kilos - something that worried Rocha. After the shooting, Del Rey had to take 2 days off, due to fatigue.

During the dubbing of the sound, Othon Bastos performed three voices. Besides dubbing himself as Corisco, he performed the voice for Lampião (whom Corisco had "incorporated") and also dubbed Sebastião, the black God, even though Lídio Silva played the character on screen.

Reception

Critical reception

Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 100%, based on 12 reviews, with a rating average of 8.5/10.[3]

A. H. Weiler from The New York Times praised the film, calling it "Simple, black-and-white, more arresting as a shocking polemic than as memorable drama."[4] Ted Shen from The Chicago Reader wrote, "The fusion of European and Afro-Brazilian elements--dialogue, exquisite black-and-white images, and music by Villa-Lobos--is startlingly original and poetical in conveying the hope and despair of the oppressed."[5] Time Out Magazine praised the film's style as being "somewhere between folk ballad and contemporary myth, since the references to Brazilian history and culture are pervasive and fairly opaque to the uninitiated".[6]

Awards

The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival, but failed to win.[7] It was also selected as the Brazilian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 37th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[8] In 2015 it was voted number 2 on the Abraccine Top 100 Brazilian films list.

See also

References
  1. "Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol" (in Portuguese). Cinemateca Brasileira. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  2. Ramos, Fernão; Miranda, Luiz Felipe (2000). Enciclopédia do cinema brasileiro. Senac. p. 351. ISBN 9788573590937.
  3. "Black God, White Devil (Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol) (1964) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.com. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  4. Weiler, A. "Black God, White Devil,' From Brazil - The New York Times". New York Times.com. A. H. Weiler. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  5. Shen, Ted. "Black God, White Devil". Chicago Reader.com. Ted Shen. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  6. "Black God, White Devil, directed by Glauber Rocha". Time Out.com. TR. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  7. "Festival de Cannes: Black God, White Devil". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  8. Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
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