From Drama to Adventure, from A-listers to unknowns, here is a short list of a few films to have been inspired, in some way, by Brazil
Brazil is an inspiration for many forms of art, and cinema is certainly one of them. Be it for stunning natural beauty or for historical points of interest, plenty of directors have chosen Brazil as the setting for their films.
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
This adventure from director Werner Herzog tells the unlikely story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, better known as Fitzcarraldo, who dreams of building an opera house in the depths of the Amazon rainforest. As an attempt to raise funds for the idea, Fitzcarraldo founds new routes for the rubber trade, navigating a large river upstream into virgin terrain, and in the process causing a great deal of damage to the rainforest and the locals. A cinema classic, it was filmed on location in the Amazon and was nominated for best foreign film at the Golden Globes.
Blindness (2008)
From Brazilian Director Fernando Meirelles, this drama grabs the viewer’s attention with its gripping story. A mysterious epidemic suddenly starts making people go blind. The Government decides to quarantine the infected, but fails to provide sufficient care for the sick. The only person not to lose their sight is a doctor’s wife who, together with a group of sufferers, struggles for humanity’s survival and recovery. Even though the film’s story takes place in an unidentified city, the outdoor locations were all filmed in São Paulo, which is rare. The cinematography is spectacular.
Amazonia (2013)
This French film follows the adventure of a capuchin monkey who, after a plane crash, gets lost in the Amazon and must learn to survive in the Rainforest. Wild adventures and a friendship with a female monkey called Gaia ensue. The sublime images are one postcard after another. Director Thierry Ragobert is famous for his nature documentaries, and this film is a tour de force. The undoubted stars of the show are the Brazilian flora and fauna.
007 – Moonraker (1979)
A world cinema classic, James Bond is always a good choice. In this adventure, Bond must investigate the disappearance of a spacecraft carrying a space rocket. His mission takes him to various places, including Rio de Janeiro. It is there that he comes up against the usual challenges, battling snakes, defying waterfalls, getting to grips with Brazilian Carnaval and even fighting with his adversary on top of a Sugar Loaf Mountain cable car, one of cinema’s most iconic action sequences.
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