The list also includes productions such as The Hijacking of Flight 375, based on a true story, and Toll, which recently hit theaters
Despite still being quite underestimated by many, Brazilian cinema offers us, year after year, great productions and, in 2023, it was no different. Since Ghost Portraitsin Kleber Mendonça Filho (Nighthawk, Aquarius), who narrowly missed the chance to represent Brazil at the 2024 Oscars, until The hijacking of Flight 375, a Hollywood-level production, national cinema only gave us pride and, then, the Rolling Stone Brazil remembers the productions that marked the year:
I boil
At first, I boil It may seem like an uncompromising comedy, but it brings a story that, in addition to being fun, is also quite emotional. In the story, a couple of architects move into an old mansion, which one day almost hosted a successful LGBTQIAPN+ club. In the dark place, they begin to be haunted by the ghosts of the place’s former owners, who still have some issues to resolve before they can rest in peace.
WHERE TO WATCH: Star+
Alien Nights
Big winner of the 50th edition of the Gramado Festival, Alien Nights arrived in cinemas across Brazil in March this year. The film tells the story of three friends, residents of the outskirts of Rio Branco, in Acre, impacted by the conflict between criminal factions and urban violence.
WHERE TO WATCH: Netflix
Jellyfish
Jellyfishin Anita Rocha da Silveira (Kill me please), is set in a dystopian Brazil, in which a gang, made up only of fervently religious women, tries to control everything and everyone around them, including other women, roaming the streets and punishing those they consider sinful.
WHERE TO WATCH: Globoplay
Our Dream: The Story of Claudinho and Buchecha
Another strong contender for the 2024 Oscar, but which also ended up outside the awards, Our Dream: The Story of Claudinho and Buchecha stroll through the funk player’s memories Buchechasince the creation of the successful duo with his childhood friend, Claudinhountil the death of his partner, which forced him to pursue music and life alone.
WHERE TO WATCH: Available for purchase and rent on platforms such as Google Play and Apple TV+
Mussum: The Filmis
Winner of the 51st edition of the Gramado Festival, in 2023, Mussum: The Filmis is the biopic of Antonio Carlos Bernardes GomesO Mussum dos Trapalhões, directed by Silvio Guindane (Go Que Cola) and starring Ailton Graça (Carandiru). The film explores the poor childhood of Mussumhis military career, his success with the group Originalis do Samba and behind the scenes as a member of Trapalhões.
WHERE TO WATCH: Available for purchase and rent on platforms such as YouTube, Google Play and Apple TV+.
Ghost Portraits
Even outside the Oscars, Ghost Portraits remains one of the best films released in 2023. From his own experiences with cinema, Kleber Mendonça Filho tells a very personal and moving story about the importance of cinema not only as art, but as a space for welcoming and preserving history.
WHERE TO WATCH: Netflix
My Name is Gal
With the choice of Sophie Charlotte (All the Flowers) approved by the Gal Costa, My Name is Galarrived in cinemas this year, reviving the trajectory of Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgosfrom the trip from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro at age 20 until the birth of his musical personality, Gal Costain the midst of Tropicália, one of the main counterculture movements in Brazil.
WHERE TO WATCH: Available for purchase and rent on platforms such as Google Play and Apple TV+.
Elis & Tom: It Just Had to Be With You
The documentary Elis & Tom: It Just Had to Be With You recalls the meeting between Elis Regina and Tom Jobim, in February 1974, in Los Angeles, California, in the United States, to record the iconic album “Elis & Tom”, which would change the artists’ lives and become an emblematic work of Brazilian music.
WHERE TO WATCH: Available for purchase and rent on platforms such as YouTube, Google Play and Apple TV+.
Toll
Most awarded film at this year’s edition of the Rio Festival, Toll tells the story of a toll collector, who realizes that she can earn extra income illegally from her job so she can send her son to a very expensive gay cure, taught by a famous foreign pastor.
WHERE TO WATCH: Showing in cinemas across Brazil.
The hijacking of Flight 375
With the look of a Hollywood movie, The hijacking of Flight 375 arrived in cinemas recalling, in a film full of suspense and action, a real episode in Brazilian history, in which a passenger decided to hijack a plane, mid-air, to throw it over the Palácio do Planalto, in Brasília, and kill the then president of Brazil, José Sarney.
WHERE TO WATCH: Showing in cinemas across Brazil.
Source: Rollingstone
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
