Directors: Jorge Bodanzky, Orlando Senna
Writers: Orlando Senna
Actors: Paulo César Peréio, Edna de Cássia, Lúcio Dos Santos
Production Co.: Stop Films, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)
Country: Brazil, West Germany, France
Year: 1975
Language: Dialogue in Portuguese ; optional English and Spanish subtitles.
Format: DVD
[ratings]
Summary: In a semi-documental style, the movie tells the story of Iracema, a teenager prostitute from the Braziulian northern state of Pará. She meets the truck driver Sebastião and travels with him through Transamazônica, the highway built in the 70’s by the military government to bring development to the Amazon area.
I was not a fan of this film. I felt as it was a mockery of the book and could had portrayed Iracema in a more accurate light. The film and the book drastically differ from one another, which has a fan of the book I did not enjoy.
This film explains how the relationships between Brazilians and Natives is still similar to the novel. Throughout the film, Iracema is trying to leave and travel; however, she encounters many difficulties, especially with men that want to exploit her. I personally think the film did a great job explaining how the novel is still relevant today.
The film is consistent with the book Iracema by Jose de Alencar in that it speaks to the exotic and erotic perception of indigenous women during the Portuguese exploration and colonization of Brazil. The stereotype of Iracema as exotic and erotic but somewhat helpless is a international stereotype and perception that still exists in regards to all Brazilians today. At the same time, the film does not completely and accurately portray Iracema and the other characters in the same manner as Alencar did in writing the book. The movie is closer to Disney’s perception of Pocahontas. Good attempt, but it is more worthwhile to read the book for a more accurate depiction of Iracema.
This film version of Iracema was a great production in my opinion. While it did not remain particularly faithful to to the plot of its historical predecessor, “Iracema” the book by Jose de Alencar, it did highlight the larger issue of European imperialism of Brazil. The story revolves around a sexual – I am reluctant to say romantic – affair between a woman of indigenous roots, Iracema, and a caricatured ‘white capitalist tycoon,’ Tião. Tião only seeks to exploit Brazil for its wood, the nation’s material wealth. The film depicts various interesting conflicts between the traveling Tião and the locals who sell him wood. Furthermore, it is full of thoughtful symbolism, such as bumper sticker messages, rainforest burnings, and a lot more which I’ll leave you to look for! Watch it if you want to see a unique modern take on the book.
Perhaps the most insightful part of the film version of Iracema is not within the plot but in the glimpses of Transamazonic life that the director chooses to incorporate. The contrasts, both economic, social and racial, are particularly striking between the people who inhabit the territories near the Amazon and those that come from other parts (such as Tião) to profit off of the natural richness of the land.
In a sad tale that is filled with hopelessness and a need to survive, a young indigenous girl is subjected to prostitution when a truck driver she meets drops her on the side of the road in unknown territory. The film sheds light on situations and realities that could have occurred during the building of the Transamazônica road, and the shameful truths that face the land.
This film explores the life and journey of a 15 year old indigenous girl named Iracema who with no other avenues in life has become a prostitute. She is passed off from white man to white man traveling along the Transamazonic road with hopes of reaching a better life, but ultimately realizes that God has chosen for her to simply wander. It’s a sad film in which one sees the hopelessness of life as an indigenous woman in Brazil with movement up and out of the basin of social status hierarchy as very unlikely and the severe poverty that cannot be escaped. While this film was very raw in showing these aspects of life and did not attempt to sugarcoat it any way, I actually really enjoyed watching it and feel I have a much better understanding of modern-day indigenous life in the Amazon regions. I would love to travel to Pará and see with my own eyes one day and see if there’s a way to help.
This film centers around a stereotype that still lingers in Brazilian society today: the idea of Brazilian woman as erotic and vulnerable. This is shown by following Iracema, a prostitute from the Amazon region of Pará, with a traveling white business tycoon that sells wood who ends up using her for sex as he travels across the Amazon. Furthermore, the film also introduces the viewer to life in the Amazon region and the effects of deforestation. Great film overall