A short history of cinema do brasil, seen from Rio
It is from the city of Rio de Janeiro that the first Brazilian director, Affonso Segreto, was born. Son of an Italian family, his brother Paschoal and himself were the first to implement the seventh art in Brazil, after having been captivated by the very first national projection of the Lumière brothers, on July 8, 1896 in Rio. In 1898, Affonso Segreto would have filmed his arrival in Rio in the Guanabara Bay, but this film - the very first one putting Brazil in images - has now disappeared. Paschoal, for his part, opened the country's first cinema on July 31, 1897, also in Rio de Janeiro. In the following decades, Rio de Janeiro would occupy a central place in the national cinema, as much for its richness as for its international openness. During the 1940s and 1950s, the Atlântida Cinematografica studio produced dozens of films, turning actors like Oscarito and Grande Otelo into national stars. A cinema for the general public, sometimes very commercial, to which the directors of Cinema Novo were opposed in the early 1960s. Rio, along with Bahia and São Paulo, was one of the epicenters of this new movement of social cinema influenced as much by Italian neo-realism as by the French New Wave and Soviet cinema. Between 1960 and 1975, the Rio region hosted the shooting of several of these films. Glauber Rocha's Earth in Trance (1967), an allegory of Brazil's recent history, was shot in Parque Lage and in the Theatro Municipal do Rio. The film was included in the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival, before winning the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival. The following year, The Brave Warrior, the first film by Gustavo Dahl, one of the leading figures of Cinema Novo, was also shot in Rio. In 1969, the cynical and offbeat comedy Macunaíma was set in Rio, with a bizarre story that reminded us as much of Monty Python as a less childish and more political Kirikou. Another example of what Cinema Novo could bring to the cinematographic history of the country. An influence that can be seen in the great critical success of Central do Brasil by Walter Salles, starring Fernanda Montenegro (1998). A film that earned its actress the honor of being the first Brazilian actress nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe, and won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival the same year. Four years later, the feature film City of God by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund (2002), shot in the Cidade de Deus neighborhood of Rio, was nominated for four Academy Awards. Many critics now consider the film to be one of the greatest cinematic works of all time. The themes of corruption, drugs and violence that run through the story are echoed in another important film of the 21st century, Tropa de Elite
, directed in Rio by José Padilha (2007). A raw, no-holds-barred action film whose shooting was disrupted by threats, including the kidnapping of the crew in the favela where the film was to be shot. Fortunately, the event ended well, and the film went on to win over the Brazilian public, before winning the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2008. In the north, Minas Gerais and its cities receive less filming. Brazilian cinema is generally confined to the production centers of Bahia, São Paulo or Rio. But some filmmakers, including the recent Helvecio Ratton, nevertheless shoot in their native region or in their heartland. This is the case of Helvecio Ratton, who has been making short and feature films in the state since 1978. In 1995, he released his first feature film, Love & Co, which was followed by Something in the Air (2002) and Batismo de Sangue (2006), which is more acidic and politically committed. Belo Horizonte is the setting for the latter, while Love & Co will take you to the beautiful cities of São João Del Rei and Tiradentes, for a bit of cinephile tourism.Rio the fascinating, Rio the cinematic
The wonderful city has fascinated international filmmakers since the beginning of cinema. David Perlov, one of the fathers of Israeli cinema, was born there in 1930, while filmmakers like Marcel Camus adapted great Brazilian names, such as Vinícius de Moraes and his Orfeu Negro (1959). In 1964, Jean-Paul Belmondo was the Man from Rio, in Philippe de Broca's eponymous film with Françoise Dorléac, which filled French and international theaters. The work would have even directly inspired Steven Spielberg for The Raiders of the Lost Ark, first episode of the Indiana Jones saga. Beyond the city, the architectural heritage of the region has also been for much in its place on the screen. The Sugarloaf Mountain cable car is the setting for an anthology scene in Moonraker, the eleventh installment of the James Bond saga, while the Corcovado makes a notable appearance in OSS 117: Rio Doesn't Answer, a
hilarious parody of the same saga. With Jean Dujardin in the title role, the city benefits from a nice highlight, even if the heat and the Nazis do not help agent Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath to fully enjoy his stay. As for Hollywood, the city has been the setting for various films since the 1930s, such as En route vers Rio (1947), with the legendary actor Bing Crosby. More recently, it is through big productions like Fast and Furious 5 (2011) or, in a completely different register, Twilight Chapter IV: Revelation (2011 also) that the city and the region have appeared on screen. In the latter, you can recognize the island of Paraty, renamed Esmée Island in the film. The villa in which Bella and Edward spend their hot honeymoon is available for rent, as long as your budget allows its rate of about 3 500 € per night. Finally, add a little color to your stay by vibrating to the lively rhythms of Rio (2011), an animated film that will keep your toddlers busy on the way to this wonderland.
