a5c7b9f00b Antonio of the Death is a "cangaceiros" killer. Cangaceiro is the local name for a popular leader. Antonio is hired to kill the one who seems to be the last one in the Pirahna's Valley. This man is being followed by a strange woman who is considered a Saint. Once Antonio has killed the Cangaceiro, he changes his way of thinking when listening to the Saint's words.
Period piece about a Brazil that is no more. This movie is the sequel to "God and the Devil in the Land of the Sun" (Deus e o diabo na terra do sol), and takes place 29 years after Antonio das Mortes killed Corisco (the "Blond Devil"), last of the Cangaceiros. In "the old days", Antonio's function in life was exterminate these bandits, on account of his personal grudges against them. His life had been meaningless for the last 29 years, but now, a new challenge awaits him. When a Cangaceiro appears in Jardim Das Piranhas, the local Land Baron (Jofre Soares), an old man, does what seems obvious to him: he calls Antonio das Mortes, killer of Cangaceiros. At first, Antonio is ecstatic. His life has gained new meaning. But soon it becomes obvious that this new Cangaceiro (named Coirana) is no Corisco, but an idealist. An idealist of the sixties in the garb of the forties. A leader to the hopeless and the hungry. Antonio das Mortes begins to reconsider his feelings towards Coirana and his followers...
When we see most of the films about Jesse James and specially Sam Peckinpah's "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" we feel how difficult it is to define who is the "good guy". The outlaws are fighting the sometimes dishonest business interests of the politicians, railroads, banks, etc. Antonio das Mortes is the Pat Garrett of the Brazilian Northeast. His mission is to kill the bandit Coirana. They even have a fight holding a scarf between their teeth reminiscent of the Jesse James' films "Kansas Raiders"(1950) and the future "The Long Riders"(1980). But this "Pat Garrett" will realize he is on the wrong side and fight for his redemption. Glauber Rocha combines vivid colors with absorbing words, sometimes in rhyme, and rapturous folkloric songs. He expresses his views in the western format, as would be done later by Tarantino.
this is one of the most beautiful films that i have come across. The beautifully changing styles of narration to get to a complete absurd or a rather dream like experience at the end of the film makes it one of the most beautiful essay on form. a must watch for anyone who is interested in understanding how a narrative style can change in the process of a film. <br/><br/>glauber rocha is like a magician who brings out the pigeon from nowhere and turns into a rabbit and makes it into a formation of a cloud. it is pure poetry.<br/><br/>The characters for Rocha are pure ideas, the movements and kinesics , takes them out of the fences of realism to the level of an oral narrative or a mythical one for that matter. As the movie progresses it turns, it can be best said, to take up the form of a folk dance.<br/><br/>it is a normal phenomena to notice the drop outs in the first quarter of the film,before the turn over starts. the wrong perception created by the experiences of the various films that had ruled our viewings.<br/><br/>at the end i will like to say it is a sure treat for anyone interested in the grammar and language of cinema.
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