The Icarus Films September 19, 2017 DVD release of the 2016 Brazilian documentary "Cinema Novo" is a typically "innovative and provocative" Icarus release about an innovative and provocative subject.
Writer/director Eryk Rocha pays homage to his father Glauber Rocha and the other founders of the Brazilian Cinema Novo movement of the '6os and '70s. These oft-experimental and equally frequently black-and-white films that are stark in style and theme are homages to the earlier French New Wave cinema. On a less artistic level, looking at many of the seeming 100s of clips in "Cinema" evokes thoughts of the '80s black-and-white Calvin Klein ads.
The aside for today is that the stated purpose of Novo to depict what otherwise is not shown on film dates back roughly 30 years earlier to Robert Flaherty of "Nanook of the North" and other founders of the documentary film genre responding to America only seeing the Hollywood version of life at their local nickelodeon. The (Unreal TV reviewed) Icarus DVD release "A Boatload of Wild Irishmen" discusses those roots.
The numerous Best Documentary wins for "Cinema" include that honor at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, the 2017 Cinema Brazil Grand Prize awards, and the 2017 Sao Paulo Association of Art Critics Awards.
The realistic style (and oft-urban settings) of these films also often involve someone being chased. Icarus notes that this literally taking filmmaking to the streets is designed to break down the traditional barriers associated with that art. Icarus specifically states that this genre is designed to tell "the stories of people and regions not typically depicted on screen."
Rocha Sr. and his peers echo those sentiments in archival interviews in which they discuss both otherwise generally censored societal issues and the close collaboration that reflects the spirit of Novo. They further note that any censorship by these filmmakers is hypocritical.
The commerce aspect of this art mostly comes through in discussing the film distribution company that dominates regarding the releases of these productions. The directors very candidly admit that a relationship with that company is highly desired.
The latter vivid color Novo films reflect both the aforementioned desire to put butts in the seats and a more altruistic aim of dispelling the myths regarding Brazil being a lush Utopia. One especially grotesque scene has a not so fine or young apparent cannibal finding himself in a pool full of his apparent victims. But for the subject matter, the style of this scene looks like something out of the 1971 musical comedy "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."
The nature of the topic and the well-produced presentation to discuss the 12-year evolution of a complex film movement makes reading the 16-page booklet that accompanies the DVD worthwhile. This essay by film scholars Randal Johnson and Robert Stam expands on the points in this review and provides detail regarding the shifting political climates in Brazil that influence the Novo films.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Novo" is encouraged to email me; you also can connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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