"You have to direct a film with the same freedom you
have when you dream: without any limits. It’s necessary to end the dictatorship of
realism. The majority of the viewers today are addicted to a cinema full of formulas,
preconceived ideas, where there is no room for imagination, or delirium."
Born in 1941 in Belo Horizonte, capital of Minas Gerais state,
filmmaker Neville Duarte D’Almeida has had a more than colorful career in the Brazilian
movie industry. He took acting classes at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, starting
in 1960. Five years later he continued his performing studies at the New York College, in
the U.S.. Censored at the beginning of his work as a director and unable to show his first
films he ended up becoming a popular film director. Despite his protests, critics have
labeled him together with movie directors Rogério Sganzerla and Júlio Bressane as one of
the leaders of the Cinema Marginal movement, a movie current interested in exploring the
contradictions and existential musings of the Brazilian middle-class.
By Brazzil Magazine
Plays,
movies &
best-seller books
PLAYS
RIO
Andor de Coisas Raras (Bier of Rarities)—Singing monologue. A
potpourri mixing literature, poetry and plastic arts. Directed by Cláudio Olivotto. With
Numa Ciro. Teatro Glória.
Cheque ou Mate (Check or Mate)—Comedy. A family gets panicky when
their money mysteriously disappears. A critical view of the arriviste. Written by Ricardo
Semler (entrepreneur and bestseller author, a novice as a playwright), directed by Roberto
Lage with Raul Cortez and Myriam Pérsia. Teatro João Caetano.
Drácula e Dança dos Vampiros (Dracula and the Dance of the
Vampires)— Comedy macabre. A vampire researcher goes to Pennsylvania with the
intention of getting rid of the bucktoothed. Written and directed by João Luiz Fiani.
With Marino Jr. and Jota Eme. Teatro da Praia.
O Julgamento (The Trial)—The residents of a village can get an
inheritance only if they admit to the murder of a man. Written by Daniel Herz. Directed by
Susanna Kruger and Daniel Herz. With Cia. de Teatro Atores de Laura. Casa de Cultura Laura
Alvim.
Todas as Mulheres do Mundo (All the Women of the World)—Author,
director and actor Cláudio Ramos interprets three housewives fighting against machismo.
He is a submissive woman in Sua Batata Está Assando (Your Potato Is Baking), a socialite
in Odeio Iguabinha (I Hate Iguabinha), and a hick in Rodízio de Chuchu (All You Can Eat
Chayote). Teatro Princesa Isabel.
As Troianas (The Trojan Women)—Tragedy. The night before a group of
women have their fate decided. By classic Greek playwright Euripides. Directed by Luiz
Furlanetto. With Cristina Pinheiro and Denise Padilha. Teatro Casa Grande.
Videoclip Blues— Comedy. The hilarious situation lived by a couple
when they decide to end their relationship. Written by Leo Lama. Directed by Rogério
Fabiano. With Deborah Secco and Marcelo Faustini. Teatro dos Grandes Atores.
SÀO PAULO
O Analista de Bagé—A Terapia do Riso (Bagé’s Analyst—The
Therapy of Laughter)—The famous fictional therapist gets the public into a group
therapy. Adapted, directed, and interpreted by Cláudio Cunha. From Luís Fernando
Veríssimo best-selling book. Also with Melissa Mell. Teatro Itália.
Confidências de um Espermatozóide Careca (Confidences of a Bald
Spermatozoid)—"Memories" before birth, repression, and discovery of sex are
some of the themes. By Carlos Eduardo Novaes. Comic monologue. Actor Vicentini Gomes plays
26 characters. Directed by Antônio do Valle.
Francisco de Assis (Francis of Assisi)—Story of Giovanni Francesco
Bernardone (1182-1226) and his conversion from a life of wealth to total poverty.
Gregorian chants, litanies, rock and pop are used. More than 20 actors are involved.
Written, directed and interpreted by Ciro Barcelos, who spent six months with Franciscan
monks in Assisi, Italy before writing the play. Teatro Palace
Inseparáveis (Inseparable)—Written by Maria Adelaide Amaral.
Dramacomedy. On the eve of an impending divorce after 25 years of marriage, woman meets
again an old friend. With Irene Ravache, Jussara Freire, and Eduardo Conde. Directed by
José Possi Neto. Teatro Faap.
Promiscuidade (Promiscuousness)—Written by Pedro Vicente. A group of
friends dealing with news overload and life anxieties. Fernando Alves Pinto, Lavínia
Pannunzio, and Regina França. Directed by Márcia Abujamra. Centro Cultural.
MOVIES
American films just released: Amistad (Amistad), As Good As It Gets (Melhor
É Impossível), The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca (Lorca), The Full Monty (Ou Tudo Ou
Nada), Good Will Hunting (Gênio Indomável), Spawn (Spawn: O Soldado do Inferno),
Spiceworld (O Mundo das Spice Girls), Starship Troopers (Tropas Estelares), U-Turn
(Reviravolta), The Winner (O Vencedor)
Bent (Bent)—England/1996—By Sean Mathias. With Clive Owen,
Lothaire Bluteau, and Brian Webber. Drama. The tough life of three gay men during Nazism.
Bocage, o Triunfo Do Amor (Bocage, the Triumph of
Love)—Brazil-Portugal/1996—By Djalma Limongi Batista. With Victor Wagner,
Francisco Farinelli, and Viétia Rocha. Sonnets and erotic poems of Portuguese author
Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage (1765-1805) are set to film with images from Brazil and
Portugal.
Como Ser Solteiro (How to Be a Single Man)—Brazil/1997—By
Rosane Svartman. With Rosana Garcia, Ernesto Piccolo, Heitor Martinez Mello, and Marcos
Palmeira. Comedy. Four interconnected stories happening in Rio de Janeiro.
For Ever Mozart (Para Sempre Mozart)—France-Switzerland/1996—By
Jean-Luc Godard. With Madeleine Assas, Ghalia Lacroix and Bérangére Allaux. Four films
in one. A director has a problem with the actors when he starts the shooting.
The Full Monty (Ou Tudo ou Nada)—England/1996— by Peter
Cattaneo with Robert Carlyle, William Snape, and Steve Hudson. Comedy. Out of work, a
group of men start a strip-tease joint.
Généalogies d’un Crime (Genealogias de um Crime)—France/1996—By
Raoul Ruiz. With Catherine Deneuve, Michel Piccoli, and Melvil Poupaud. Drama. A youngster
is on trial for having killed his aunt who was a child psychoanalyst.
Junk Mail (Junk mail)—Norway/1996— By Pal Sletaune. With Robert
Skjürstad, Andrine Sther and Per Egil Aske. Sex, robbery, and murder in a story between a
postman and a woman who forgets the house keys in her P.O. Box.
Ma vie en rose (Minha Vida em Cor de Rosa)
Belgium-France-England/1997—by Alain Berliner with Michele Laroque, Georges du
Fresne, and Jean-Philippe Ecoffey. Drama. Parents do not know what to do when their son
starts acting like a girl.
BOOKS
FICTION
1 O plano perfeito, Sidney Sheldon. Record, 300 p. R$25.
2 A senhora de Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley. Rocco, 504 p. R$28.
3 Cada um por si – Titanic, Beryl Bainbridge. Companhia das Letras, 226
p. R$19.
4 O homem que calculava, Malba Tahan. Record, 218 p. R$19.
5 Novas comédias da vida privada, Luís Fernando Veríssimo. L&PM,
344 p. R$21,60.
6 O sócio, John Grisham. Rocco, 416 p. R$25.
7 O feitiço da Ilha do Pavão, João Ubaldo Ribeiro. Nova Fronteira, 324
p. R$24.
8 A águia e a galinha, Leonardo Boff. Vozes, 206 p. R$16.
9 Todos os nomes, José Saramago. Companhia das Letras, 280 p. R$20.
10 O mundo de Sofia, Jostein Gaarder. Companhia das Letras, 555 p
R$26,50.
NONFICTION
1 As melhores piadas do planeta e da Casseta, Casseta e Planeta.
Objetiva, 128 p. R$10.
2 Feliz 1958, o ano que não devia terminar, Joaquim Ferreira dos Santos.
Record, 192 p. R$20.
3 Nova York é aqui, Nelson Motta. Objetiva, 218 p. R$21,80.
4 No ar rarefeito, Jon Krakauer. Companhia das Letras, 280 p. R$23.
5 Violetas na janela, Vera Lúcia M. de Carvalho. Petit, 139 p. R$9,50.
6 O sucesso é ser feliz, Roberto Shinyashiki. Gente, 198 p. R$20.
7 As sete leis espirituais do sucesso, Deepak Chopra. Best Seller 104 p.
R$13,50.
8 Minutos de sabedoria, Torres Pastorino. Vozes, 280 p. R$3,80.
9 Verdade tropical, Caetano Veloso. Companhia das Letras, 534 p. R$27.
10 Auto-engano, Eduardo Giannetti da Fonseca. Companhia das Letras, 268
p. R$25,50.
ESOTERISM/
SELF HELP
1 O sucesso é ser feliz, Roberto Shinyashiki. Gente, 198 p. R$20.
2 Minutos de sabedoria, Torres Pastorino. Vozes, 280 p. R$3,80.
3 Feng Shui, a arte milenar chinesa, Richard Craze. Campus, 136 p
R$13,90.
4 Almas gêmeas, Mônica Buonfiglio. Oficina Cultural Esotérica, 161 p.
R$18.
5 Meu anjo, Fausto Oliveira. Seame, 210 p. R$18.
According to Jornal do Brasil
