A divine blessing to Brazilian Cinema
"O Auto da Compadecida"

Religious people, humble, suffering with drought, tormented by the ghost of hunger and in a Constant fight against misery. A brief profile of the northeastern "sertanejos" from Brazil could show all of this information. We could add, certainly, the opression to which they were (and still are) submitted by the families of powerful "coronéis" (this title comes from military generals, but, these men were not military, their power came from the fact that they owned land and the soul of many workers in large areas of northeastern Brazil)

For a long period of time and throughout many literary creations and its adaptations to cinema we could find out information about this singular people, the "sertanejos". They are men of short height, skinny by their very irregular alimentation (always affected by cycles of starvation), that have a skin heavily burned by the sun that reaches their region daily, with their hands with the scars from hard work on planting sugar cane or cotton (cocoa beans, tobacco,...), wearing simple clothes and bare feet.

This people are constantly having restrictions to their freedom imposed by politicians that control their regions just like authentic "currais eleitorais" (this expression means that they command people in villages, cities, regions or states of northeastern just like cowboys control cattle in their pens); they were also influenced by moral impositions of the catholic church; other problems came from the lack of information and illiteracy.

Despite all that, a famous brazilian writer (Euclides da Cunha) used to say that "the sertanejo is a strong (man)". Men of perseverance, of fiber, with a great disposition, always willing to win against all adversities that are in their way. Skilled creators of different and original ways of expression such as the "literature of cordel" (books about many subjects, written in a very popular language, that are hanged in clotheslines for sale), their handicrafts (made with materials that are common in their region) and a fine and soft music that truly seems to be part of their blood

João Grilo and Chicó, characters of one of the master pieces of brazilian literature, "O Auto da Compadecida", written by Ariano Suassuna, represent all of the characteristics presented previously about the sertanejos. We could add to all of those qualities that they are, also, very smart. It is a true pleasure to read the book. It is, as well, pleasant to watch the movie based on the book, made by Guel Arraes. The book and the film seems as portraits of the brazilian nature.

The film

The illness of Dora (Denise Fraga) and Eurico's (Diogo Vilela) dog, owners of the bakery in a small innerland town of the brazilian northeastern makes João Grilo (Matheus Nachtergaele, one of the best brazilian actors of the new generation) and Chicó (Selton Melo, another young and talented brazilian actor) goes after priest João (Rogério Cardoso). In behalf of their bosses, João Grilo and Chicó ask the priest to bless the sick animal, so that he can recover from his disease.

They fight against strong resistance from the priest, resigned by the possibility of praying for a pet. To win his confidence, João Grilo and Chicó tell the priest that the dog is owned by a powerful "coronel" (Paulo Goulart) that lives and rules over their region (by telling this lie they were forcing the priest to do the job). They were counting with the long absence of the "coronel" in the city to make their plan work out. To their despair, the "coronel" came to town and is going, as his main destination, to the church. He intends to talk to priest João...

The dialogue between the priest and the "coronel" puts João Grilo and Chicó in serious problems. One of them is going back to church and convince the priest to pray for the soul of the dog that belongs to the bakery owners (in this part of the film the dog had already died). New lies and the appearence of a phony testament that belonged to the dog solved the major problem. To make the situation even worse, new characters come to the plot, such as the bishop (Lima Duarte), the "cangaceiros" (these people were robbers and thieves that attacked and robbed cities, rapped women and frightened authorities of the brazilian northeastern in the beginning of the twentieth century) lead by Severino (Marco Nanini) and the daughter of the "coronel" (Chicó falls in love with her).

Filled with funny stories created by Chicó and having many hilarious situations lived by João Grilo, a true master on the art of telling stories and lies, the film is surprising on its final part, when some of the main characters will meet God (Maurício Goncalves), the devil (Luís Melo) and the Our Holy Mother Mary (Fernanda Montenegro, one of the greatest brazilian actresses). The movie is an authentic jewell of our television (it was made originally for TV) that was a great success of critics and public in the movies.

For teachers

1- To tell people that they must read the book of Ariano Suassuna is a basic tip. Brazilian literature is very rich and is an excellent alternative to understand a little bit about our people and our country. To read "O Auto da Compadecida" should be regular practice on our schools, not as something imposed by teachers but as a way to find out our roots, our origins as brazilians, with the best of our fine and qualified humour. Ask your students to read the book and, afterwards, allow them to watch the movie!

2- To make interviews and field researches as a way to find out more information about the life of the brazilian northeastern "sertanejos" can help students fullfill the knowledge they have about living in this region of Brazil. Their social relations, work, the way of dressing and feeding, religious traditions, the main problems of the region,... People that live far from brazilian northeastern can use internet to reach local people and get more information.

3- One of the factors that help us understand the region's problems is the political system that dominated and, even nowadays, controls regions and cities of northeastern innerland. The "indústria da seca" (drought industry), the "votos de cabresto" (elections determined by the influence of powerful families and "coronéis"), the "currais eleitorais", the "eleitores fantasmas" (a fraud in which dead people came back to vote on candidates chosen by the "coronéis") and many others vices of the political system of the brazilian northeastern (and also of other regions) are an unpleasant inheritance from the "coronelismo" (the political system based on the power of the "coronéis"). Tell your students to search for more informations about this phenomena!

4- Another remarkable characteristic of the region is the economy based on agriculture. Their main products were tropical foodstuffs such as sugar cane, tobacco, cotton and cocoa beans. What about northeastern economy actually? Was the climate a major factor to determine what was going to be produced? How did the techniques of plantation changed from the colonnial past and the present of the region? Were there other activities being developed in the region? What about preparing activities with graphics and panels to show the evolution of the economy in the northeastern region? It is another idea to be searched to have a complete view over the world that appears on Ariano Suassuna´s writings.

João Luís Almeida Machado
Master Degree in Education, Arts and History of Culture (Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, in São Paulo); Professor at Faculdade Senac in Campos do Jordão; Middle and High School teacher; writes weekly columns for the website Planeta Educação (www.planetaeducacao.com.br).

Send e-mails, comments, suggestions and critics for:
profjoaoluis@planetaeducacao.com.br

Technical Information

O Auto da Compadecida

Country/Year of production:- Brasil, 1999
Lenght of time/Gender:- 107 min., Comédia
Directed by Guel Arraes
Screenwriters: Guel Arraes, Adriana Falcão e João Falcão.
Cast:- Selton Melo, Matheus Nachtergaele, Denise Fraga, Marco Nanini, Fernanda Montenegro, Lima Duarte, Paulo Goulart, Diogo Vilela, Rogério Cardoso, Luís Melo, Maurício Gonçalves, Bruno Garcia, Virginia Cavendish.

Links
(all of them in portuguese)

- www.adorocinemabrasileiro.com.br/filmes/auto-da-compadecida/auto-da-compadecida.asp
- http://e-pipoca.ig.com.br/filmes_zoom.cfm?id=1165
- http://www.cineguia.com.br/index.shtml?cod_filme=CNA3828&rg=0