The Secret Agent
Dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho
From 1964-1985, Brazil was under a military dictatorship. If you’re looking for films about this period of time, you can…
Pictures of Ghosts
Dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho
Like people, places have things that change and things that remain the same. Most of us keep our thoughts about…
Soap Opera
Dir. Gigi Soares & Renata Pinheiro
The less you try to think about the absurd fantasy premise of this satire on Brazilian telenovelas, the better. Based…
Private Desert
Dir. Aly Muritiba
Through its main couple, Private Desert depicts two sides dealing with masculine repression. The first side shown is Daniel’s, who…
Invisible Life
Dir. Karim Aïnouz
This 140-minute Brazilian drama is an epic and touching tale of two sisters torn apart. In 1950s Rio de Janeiro,…
The Ciambra
Dir. Jonas Carpignano
This fiery coming-of-age drama has an unlikely origin story: director Jonas Carpignano was first introduced to the sprawling Roma clan…
Neighboring Sounds
Dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho
When there’s something to deal with, the best thing to do is to hire a professional to handle it, and…
Bacurau
Dir. Juliano Dornelles & Kleber Mendonça Filho
This incredibly creative and unique movie is set in a fictional small town in the Brazilian Backcountry. It has a…
A Wolf at the Door
Dir. Fernando Coimbra
The worst has happened in A Wolf at the Door. With Sylvia finding out that her child was picked up…
Luz: The Light of the Heart
Dir. Thiago Teitelroit
Children’s television isn’t likely going to be controversial, daring, or particularly groundbreaking, but certain shows acknowledge that they can impact…
The Second Mother
Dir. Anna Muylaert
Val is a housekeeper for a wealthy family in São Paulo. She is close with every family member, and acts…
Aquarius
Dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho
If you’ve never heard of Sonia Braga, you’re in for a ride with this movie. She is, in my opinion,…
What Remains On The Way
Dir. Danilo Do Carmo & Jakob Krese
Over 100 hours of footage were shot for this documentary chronicling the fraught journey that thousands make to reach the…
Lion's Den
Dir. Pablo Trapero
Women are rarely depicted in prison for a serious drama– usually, it mostly happens in exploitation films. So when Lion’s…
Found Memories
Dir. Julia Murat
Given its incredibly slow pace, Found Memories is not for everyone. With the same company shared for years until near…
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Dir. Héctor Babenco
Sometimes, all you need to make a good movie is to get two vastly different characters and force them to…
Frances Ha
Dir. Noah Baumbach
Frances (Greta Gerwig) lives in New York – but not the glamorous NYC of Woody Allen movies. Taking place primarily…
The Traitor
Dir. Marco Bellocchio
This slow Italian drama tells the true story of Mafia boss Tommaso Buscetta, who became the highest-profile Mafia informant at…
I'm Still Here
Dir. Walter Salles
At the height of a military dictatorship in Brazil, forced disappearances were an unfortunately common occurrence. It was the government’s…