Brazilian films about madness

In lawless badlands, reclusive Cabeleira sets out to discover the fate of his gunman father and grows to be a feared assassin himself.

1980s. Brazilian television exploding in color and auditorium programs not so politically correct. In the middle of this fervor, Augusto Mendes, a young rising actor, seeks his place in the sun. From porn studios to soap operas, he finally finds success and fame when he becomes "Bingo", a TV host clown from one of the audience leader TV shows for children. It turns out that behind the rice powder and red nose, nobody knows who he is.

In 1980, best friends Juliano and Joaquin join the gold rush at Serra Pelada, Bald Mountain, a mountain town near the mighty Amazon river. As the town grows in numbers, it also sees an explosion in violent crime and pollution. Soon the friends' dreams of hitting the jack pot are shattered. Winner of the 2014 Cinema Brazil Grand Prize.

Theo is living the good life in an upscale Brazilian neighborhood. He’s a hardworking doctor, husband, and father. However, Theo has chosen his career over his family, and little by little he discovers that his world is crumbling around him. His beloved mentor and surrogate father is dying, and his wife announces that she wants a divorce. Yet nothing prepares him for the day when he comes home to discover that his 15-year-old son, Pedro, has disappeared. Theo takes to the road in search of his son. In a journey that leads him throughout Brazil, Theo discovers what really matters to him. Searching for his missing son, Theo finds himself.

The selfish Dr. André Luiz dies and awakes in the limbo called "Umbral". After a painful period in the gruesome swamp, he is rescued and brought in a white light to "Nosso Lar" (meaning "Our Home"). He finds a place of harmony, where people live in peace awaiting

São Paulo, 2007. Santana works as a dogcatcher, picking up stray animals. He is a friendly guy, averse to trouble, who has always kept violence away from the doorsteps of his home. One day, he catches a very big dog in a school. Some days later, comes the animal's owner: Babyface, a sociopath ex-cop. The man is furious, considering his dog to be "kidnapped", and demands immediate restitution of his pet. But the dog is not coming back: according to the law, the animal was put to sleep. In a misunderstanding, Babyface argue with Santana, blaming him for his pet's death. From this moment on, Santana's life will be completely changed.

Martin and Hazel Quarrier are small-town fundamentalist missionaries sent to the jungles of South America to convert the Indians. Their remote mission was previously run by the Catholics, before the natives murdered them all. They are sent by the pompous Leslie Huben, who runs the missionary effort in the area but who seems more concerned about competing with his Catholic 'rivals' than in the Indians themselves. Hazel is terrified of the Indians while Martin is fascinated. Soon American pilot Lewis Moon joins the Indian tribe but is attracted by Leslie's young wife, Andy. Can the interaction of these characters and cultures, and the advancing bulldozers of civilization, avoid disaster?

In 1951, New York poet Elizabeth Bishop travels to Rio de Janeiro to visit Mary, a college friend. The shy Elizabeth is overwhelmed by Brazilian sensuality. She is the antithesis to Mary’s dashing partner, architect Lota de Macedo Soares. Mary is jealous, but unconventional Lota is determined to have both women at all costs. This eternal triangle plays out against the backdrop of the military coup of 1964. Bishop’s moving poems are at the core of a film which lushly illustrates a crucial phase in the life of this influential Pulitzer prize-winning poet.

After a bloody invasion of the BOPE in the High-Security Penitentiary Bangu 1 in Rio de Janeiro to control a rebellion of interns, the Lieutenant-Colonel Roberto Nascimento and the second in command Captain André Matias are accused by the Human Right Aids member Diogo Fraga of execution of prisoners. Matias is transferred to the corrupted Military Police and Nascimento is exonerated from the BOPE by the Governor.

In 1945, Japan surrendered to the United States and the Second World War was over. Right? Wrong. For eighty percent of the Japanese community in Brazil, Japan had won the war and defeat was nothing more than American propaganda. The few immigrants that accepted the truth were persecuted. Some were hunted down and assassinated - by their own countrymen - causing the start of a new, private war. Dirty Hearts is a thriller and love story told by the wife of one of the fanatics dedicated to preach Japanese victory. Little by little, she watches her husband, a hard-working immigrant, become an assassin and their love story fade away.

Life in a middle-class neighbourhood in present day Recife, Brazil, takes an unexpected turn after the arrival of an independent private security firm. The presence of these men brings a sense of safety and a good deal of anxiety to a culture which runs on fear. Meanwhile, Bia, married and mother of two, must find a way to deal with the constant barking and howling of her neighbour’s dog. A slice of ‘Braziliana’, a reflection on history, violence and noise.

A lonely beach on the southernmost coast of Brazil is the scene for two friends, on the brink of adulthood, to explore their understanding of themselves and one another. Martin (Mateus Almada) has been sent by his father to retrieve what appears to be an inheritance-related document from the family of his recently deceased and estranged grandfather. Tomaz (Mauricio Jose Barcellos) accompanies him, seemingly hoping to regain some of their former closeness. The two boys shelter themselves in a glass house, in front of a cold and stormy sea.

Rachel is a girl, adopted by an upper middle class family, who rebelled at 17 and left her family and studies at a traditional college in Sao Paulo to become a call girl. Shortly after starting work, she decided to write a blog about her experiences. Since some clients thought she looked like a surfer she adopted the name "Surfistinha" which means little surfer girl.

After being released from prison, Dr. Nise da Silveira is back at work in a psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of Rio de Janeirom where she refuses to employ the new and violent electroshock in the treatment of schizophrenics. Ridiculed by doctors, she is forced to take on the abandoned Sector for Occupational Therapy, where she would start a revolution through paintings, animals and love.

The real first comedy about love.

As a privileged teenager living in an affluent suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Jean has little to worry about beyond games, grades and girls. But as his overbearing father drags the family into debt, Jean is forced into a change of lifestyle which opens his eyes to the world beyond his 'casa grande' - not least that of the feisty, mixed-race firecracker Luiza. Cultures, classes and generations collide in this engrossing coming-of-age drama from Brazil.

Paulo Coelho is the world’s most translated living author, his books having sold over 165 million copies. But he was not always the inspirational global phenomenon he is today. Like the heroes in his spiritual classics THE ALCHEMIST and THE PILGRIMAGE, he long-searched for his calling, flirting with death, escaping madness, falling in love, and making rock ’n’ roll history in Brazil, all-the-while striving for success as a writer. A wild ride through a lifetime of stranger-than-fiction adventures, PAULO COELHO’S BEST STORY is a profoundly moving film that goes straight to the heart of the most beloved literary guru of our time, revealing the most incredible wonder of all: the man behind the masterpieces.

An uplifting feature documentary highlighting the transformative power of art and the beauty of the human spirit. Top-selling contemporary artist Vik Muniz takes us on an emotional journey from Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, to the heights of international art stardom. Vik collaborates with the brilliant catadores, pickers of recyclable materials, true Shakespearean characters who live and work in the garbage quoting Machiavelli and showing us how to recycle ourselves.

Little Secret is a film with three interlocked stories all connected by a single secret that converge to reveal the tragic yet beautiful lives of three families and how hope, dreams and destiny can unite people from very different parts of the world.

In the '40s, three brothers decide to live a great adventure and enlisting in the Roncador-Xingu Expedition, which has a mission to tame the Central Brazil. The Villas Boas brothers: Orlando, 27, Claudius, 25, and Leonardo, 23, engage in a fantastic and incredible saga. Soon start to lead the expedition that opens new paths 1,500 km, navigates over 1,000 miles of unspoilt rivers, opens 19 airfields for airplanes Army, gives rise to the creation of 43 towns and 14 make contact with wild Indian tribes, unknown, as the Xavante, courageous and feared warriors, no casualties on both sides. This adventure allows the Villas Boas brothers the creation of the Xingu National Park, the first major Amerindian reservation in Brazil, the size of Belgium, transforming them into true contemporary heroes.

While her mom is away, a teen sneaks out of the hippie commune where she lives and embarks on a life-changing adventure to discover who her father is.

These children live in the four corners of the earth, but share the same thirst for learning. They understand that only education will allow them a better future and that is why, every day, they must set out on the long and perilous journey that will lead them to knowledge. Jackson and his younger sister from Kenya walk 15 kilometres each way through a savannah populated by wild animals; Carlito rides more than 18 kilometres twice a day with his younger sister, across the plains of Argentina; Zahira lives in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains who has an exhausting 22 kilometres walk along punishing mountain paths before she reaches her boarding school; Samuel from India sits in a clumsy DIY wheelchair and the 4 kilometres journey is an ordeal each day, as his two younger brothers have to push him all the way to school…

The story of five generations of the same family-owned circus. From the inauguration of The Great Mystical Circus in 1910 up to present day, the adventures and loves of the Knieps family, from their prime through to their decadence, up until the surprise ending. A film in which reality and fantasy come together in a mystical universe.

Lisbon, Portugal, 2010. Pilar, a pious woman devoted to social causes, maintains a peculiar relationship with her neighbor Aurora, a temperamental old woman obsessed with gambling who lives tormented by a mysterious past.

A group of honest police is sent to a country town to solve the problem of high crime. Soon they solve the problem while newcomer Francis (Cléo Pires) must overcome their limits to prove that it has value. They are acclaimed by public opinion. But before long the application of the force of the law begins to annoy everyone and the true enemy is revealed.

A destitute young man, raised by racist skinheads and notorious among white supremacists, turns his back on hatred and violence to transform his life, with the help of a black activist and the woman he loves.

Billionaire cousins Bastiano (Terence Hill) and Antonio (Bud Spencer) are two savvy businessmen, at least in one regard. They want to close a large deal, although they have to fear for their lives because of it since their competition won't even stop at murder. Therefore they have an agency find two look-alikes from the United States, stuntman Elliot Vance (Terence Hill) and the jazz saxophonist Greg Wonder (Bud Spencer). These accept the job offer, initially not knowing why they really have been hired. Nonetheless Elliot and Greg manage to fight their way through all kinds of situations without too much trouble. Additionally they quickly come to like the jet-set life. The resulting damage to their reputation provokes the Coimbras to return to Rio ahead of time. This puts them right into the sights of their enemies, alongside the cousins' look-alikes.

Edgar is a young upper-middle class man, close to completing 30 years old, he lives a full life crisis and is in a position common to the vast majority of Brazilians. On the one hand the power, represented by a corrupt state, abusive and absent in their taxes before their obligations. On the other, crime increasingly organized violence became a constant in the lives of citizens in large cities. Edgar responds to all this as a modern vigilante. With the help of ingredients such as technology, counter-information and manipulation, Edgar concocts a brilliant plan, using the greed of their opponents as the reason for its destruction. As the plot unfolds, we know more about the dark past of each character as Edgar fit the pieces together in an intriguing puzzle that makes up the film's plot.

Jewel thieves attempt to recover treasure from piranha infested waters. Mistrust and betrayals happen amongst the gang in the quest for gold.

Afro-Brazilian poet and politician, the legendary Carlos Marighella. Driven to fight against the erosion of civil and human rights following the CIA-backed military coup of 1964 and the brutal, racist right-wing dictatorship that followed, the revolutionary leaves behind his wife and son to take up arms, becoming a notorious enemy to the power structure.

Alfonso is an old farmer who has returned home to tend to his son, who is gravely ill. He rediscovers his old house, where the woman who was once his wife still lives, with his daughter-in-law and grandson. The landscape that awaits him resembles a wasteland. Vast sugar cane plantations surround the house, producing perpetual clouds of ash. 17 years after abandoning them, Alfonso tries to fit back in and save his family.

The Israeli-Jewish side of his family calls him Avram. The Palestinian-Muslim side Ibrahim. His first-generation American agnostic lawyer parents call him Abraham. But the 12-year-old kid from Brooklyn who loves food and cooking, prefers, well, Abe. Just Abe.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1950. In the conservative home of the Gusmão family, Eurídice and Guida are two inseparable sisters who support each other. While Guida can share with her younger sister the details of her romantic adventures, Eurídice finds in her older sister the encouragement she needs to pursue her dream of becoming a professional pianist.

2013. During Operation Bidone, the Federal Police seized a truck loaded with palm heart, which contained 697 kg of cocaine. The investigation falls on the team assembled by Ivan Romano, based in Curitiba and composed by Beatriz, Júlio and Ítalo. The traffic connections lead them to the dower Alberto Youssef and later to the former Petrobras director Paulo Roberto Costa, who reveals an immense structure involving builders and the government, in order to divert public money. As the investigation progresses, the group led by Ivan is increasingly approaching some of the country's most influential politicians.

Amazonia is an adventure in 3D inside the largest rainforest on the planet: the Amazon rainforest. Chestnut is a Capuchin monkey domesticated who survives a plane crash and finds himself alone in the dense forest. The monkey needs to learn to live in freedom, in a new world where animals of all kinds: Jaguars, alligators, snakes, tapirs, hawks. Gradually, Brown learns to live in the forest, making new friends, especially the monkey Gaia, their fellow species.

An astronaut travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. He uncovers secrets which challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos.

The story of André, the rebel runaway son from a dominant Lebanese-Brazilian family who returns to the nest after a few years. "Lavoura Arcaica" deals with melodramatic themes of tyrannical fathers, incest and fierce family conflicts, matched by an overheated and intense visual style.

Before entering a prestigious American university, Gabriel Buchmann decides to travel the world for one year. After ten months on the road with his backpack full of dreams, immersed at the heart of various countries, he arrives in Kenya determined to discover the African continent. Until he reaches the top of Mount Mulanje, Malawi, his final destination.

Miguel is a federal agent, highly trained and skilled in weapons. After experiencing trauma in his personal life, he sets out on a journey of revenge, assuming the identity of a masked vigilante. The Awakener decides to do justice with his own hands by exterminating corrupt politicians.

Recently divorced Adriana tries to get revenge on the woman who took her husband away from her by going on a European cruze along with them.

The film narrates the love between Janaína and a native warrior who, when dying, takes the form of a bird. For six centuries, the story of the couple survives through four stages in the history of Brazil: 1500, when the country was discovered by the Portuguese explorers, 1800, in events during slavery; 1970, during the high point of the military dictatorship, and 2096, when there will be a war over water.

Death and blood are in the middle of a feud between two families. Something creepy rounds the Silva Farm and makes its victims. The Carvalho Family, stuck to their past and hatred, can't see the secular evil that approaches from the darken woods.

Giovana and Yago are strangers who share a spark after meeting at a party. When a deadly cloud mysteriously takes over their city, they are forced to seek shelter with only each other for company. As months pass and the planet settles into an extended quarantine, their world shrinks, and they are forced to come to terms with an accelerated timeline for their relationship. With all their other interactions governed by screens, and with the strain of isolation setting in, Giovana and Yago struggle to reinvent themselves and reconcile the differences that threaten to tear them apart.

About the life and adventures of a gang of abandoned street kids known as "Capitães da Areia" (Captains of the Sands), in Salvador, Bahia, during the 1950s.

Exposed by his girlfriend through a video on the Internet, Bruno tries to revive his reputation, but all he can do is get into a series of traps (Cilada, in Portuguese). Cilada.com is a comedy about love and betrayal that shows the power of the Internet to transform small intimacies and slips in fame and constraints globalized.