18 Great Brazilian Movies and Series You Must See

Brazilian cinema, as critics say, is usually divided into periods. There is the period of the chanchadas, in the 1940s and 1950s, in which names such as Oscarito and Grande Otelo and the films of the unforgettable Mazzaropi, Glauber Rocha’s Cinema Novo (and his God and the Devil in the Land of the Sun) and the so-called ‘resumption’, in the 1990s and 2000s, with feature films such as Central do Brasil (with Fernanda Montenegro being nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress), Cidade de Deus, Tropa de Elite.

And, although the country has never won an Oscar, like our Argentine and Chilean neighbors, many Brazilian productions are considered of excellent quality. And, more recently, in addition to films, the country has produced good series.

To show some of these quality films and series, Incrivel.club brings you a list of suggestions that owe nothing to foreign productions. Check out!

The work, directed by Sérgio Rezende and performed by Andréa Beltrão, talks about the pianist Lúcia who becomes a widow and loses financial stability, moves with her son Rafael to the periphery, he gets involved in a murder and is arrested. After that, the story has a criminal organization as a background and its performance inside the prison in São Paulo. This story of a fictional character, but that talks about the chaos that occurred in São Paulo in 2006 due to the attacks of a criminal organization. The film was chosen by Brazil to compete for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2010.

This is a 2010 crime film directed by José Padilha and starring Wagner Moura, it is a sequel to Elite Squad (2007) and has as its main focus the conflicts between the Rio de Janeiro Military Police and the militia. In this theme, the film addresses topics such as corruption, police, organized crime and politics. In 2011 it had no less than 16 nominations for the Grand Prix of Brazilian Cinema and an Oscar nomination for best foreign film.

The film “O Palhaço” is directed and acted by actor Selton Mello, a work that brings laughter and tears from the viewer with a peculiar simplicity. It shows what life is like for a professional who always makes us smile, revealing his human and questioning side of life and his existential question of “to be or not to be”. He won several awards, including the Brazilian Grand Prix of Cinema and the Tiburon International Film Festival.

A drama and suspense film that works on the dynamics of social relations, the boss-employee relationship, with the theme of people’s fear of urban violence and the need for higher walls and little or no interaction between people. The film won several awards, including best film, sound and criticism at the 2012 Gramado Festival and was the Brazilian nomination to compete for the 2014 Oscar, not having been chosen by the Academy to compose the final list of films that would compete for the figurine.

This film talks about the life of a blind young man who has to deal with his overprotective mother and try to have a normal life as a teenager who wants to discover the world, have his first love and conquer his dreams. The feature shows these issues lightly and without raising militant flags. Director and screenwriter Daniel Ribeiro brings to the viewer a film that talks about family and relationships, in a romantic view of how society works in the face of difference.

The film starring Regina Casé makes the viewer question how we deal with others and how this is reflected in our own lives. It talks about the relationship between boss and employee and the difficulties of this coexistence, in addition to the evident social gap between the characters. The feature is of the drama genre, written and directed by Anna Muylaert and was nominated by Brazil for the list of candidates for the Oscar, having not been chosen by the Academy for the final list of the three films that compete for the statuette. Even so, it won a series of international awards, such as Best Fiction at the Berlin Film Festival (Germany), the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival (USA), and Best Film at the Lima Film Festival (Peru).

Inspired by the play “Orfeu da Conceição” by Vinicius de Morais, which compares the mythological story of Orpheus and Eurydice to the daily lives of people who live in the favela. The film tried not to stereotype the black and the slum dweller, dealing with the theme in a romantic and simple way. Under the direction of Marcel Camus it won the Oscar for best foreign film in 1960 (representing France, as the director, Marcel Camus) was French) and the Palme d’Or at Cannes.

The real story of the Schurmann family, known for sailing around the world, and which even had a documentary and a segment on the Fantástico program about their adventures. It focuses on the story of Kat, an adopted girl who doesn’t know the big secret of her life. Her mother is overprotective and the plot unfolds without many surprises. The film won three awards at the Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro, an award held at the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro.

Third film by director Afonso Poyart, it deals with the life of MMA fighter José Aldo, who came from Manaus to Rio de Janeiro to find a better life, starting to work in a gym to eat and have a place to sleep. In a bar fight he is invited to ‘fight’ professionally. The biographical work was nominated in three categories of the Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro and for the international Emmy for best telefilm.

This biographical film shows the story of presenter Arlindo Barreto, who was successful in the 1980s in the role of the clown Bozo, on SBT. The story shows a Barreto immersed in the worldly pleasures of sex and drugs (although he was a children’s program presenter), but who, at the same time, has to deal with the loss of his mother and a troubled relationship with his son. The film was the Brazilian nominee for the Oscar 2018, but it was not on the final list.

The film released in 1962, based on the book of the same name by Dias Gomes, tells of the life of Zé do Burro, a simple man whose only goal in life is to pay a promise he made to a saint-mother for the life of his donkey. But he faces rejection from the Church that won’t let him pay that promise. It won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (in France) and entered the list made by Abraccine of the 100 best Brazilian films.

The film, based on the work of the same name by writer Ariano Suassuna, deals with the adventures of friends Chicó and João Grilo. Chicó falls in love with the daughter of a rich local landowner and does a thousand mischief with his friend to marry the girl. Comedicly deals with criticism of the church and human sins with the direction of Guel Arraes. He won four awards at the Grande Prêmio Cinema Brasil, including Best Director and Best Actor.

Directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, the film is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Paulo Lins based on real events. The work talks about the emergence of organized crime in a poor community in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1960s. The film was on the final list of nominees for the 2004 Oscar, not having won in any of the categories. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe and won the BFTA Awards (British cinema’s top award) in the Best Editing category.

3% is a Brazilian series that has been surprising due to its futuristic/science fiction theme and heavy social criticism. The story tells of a selection that every young person can make to go to a place with opportunities and the possibility of a peaceful life. The production has already been nominated for the Fénix Ibero-American Film Award as best drama series.

An interesting series that shows the reality of trafficking, sensationalist journalism and violence in the city of Belém do Pará in northern Brazil. Starring Guilherme Fontes and Mel Lisboa, it also deals with sexual tourism for poor girls from the periphery.

The film was directed by René Sampaio and brings a drama already sung in the unforgettable voice of Renato Russo (vocalist of the band Legião Urbana). A story that has love, violence, disillusionment, betrayal and revenge. The plot is worth seeing, for having an impeccable photograph of the cerrado and being faithful to the theme of the song, with the ending that everyone already knows. It won seven of the 13 nominations of the Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro for which it was nominated.

A film with a regional theme from the Brazilian hinterland that deals with several stories that are interconnected in a drama full of violence, revenge and social criticism, directed by also screenwriter Marcelo Galvão. The film won two awards at the Festival de Gramado, for Best Cinematography and Best Musical Track.

Did you like the tips on Brazilian works? Have you seen one or plan to see one? Tell us, we are curious to know.