How Angels Are Born

Last updated
How Angels Are Born
How Angels Are Born.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Murilo Salles
Written byMurilo Salles
Jorge Duran
Aguinaldo Silva
Nelson Nadotti
Produced byCláudio Kahns
Rômulo Marinho Jr.
Murilo Salles
Starring Larry Pine
Priscila Assum
Silvio Guindane
André Mattos
Cinematography César Charlone
Edited byIsabelle Rathery
Vicente Kubrusly
Music byVictor Biglione
Production
company
Empório de Cinema
Distributed byRioFilme
Release dates
Running time
97 minutes
CountryBrazil
LanguagePortuguese
Box officeR$200,000 [3]

How Angels Are Born (Portuguese : Como Nascem os Anjos) is a 1996 Brazilian crime drama film directed by Murilo Salles. It stars Priscila Assum and Silvio Guindane as two Rio de Janeiro favela's children who become involved in the kidnapping of an American man played by Larry Pine. How Angels Are Born has received awards at film festivals, and has been well received by critics.

Contents

Plot

Maguila, a developmentally delayed man, accidentally kills the drug lord of Favela Santa Marta, Rio de Janeiro. Pursued by other drug dealers, Maguila flees from the favela along with a 13-year-old tomboy nicknamed Branquinha who proclaims herself Maguila's wife. Amid the confusion, Branquinha takes her friend Japa into a car whose driver is forced to help Maguila. Suddenly, Maguila gets out of the car with the children. They arrive at the house of the American William, and Maguila asks to use his bathroom to relieve himself, as according to Branquinha he was well-bred by his mother and cannot bring himself to urinate outdoors. Assuming it is a robbery, William's chauffeur shoots Maguila who in response kills him.

In the house, they discover Dona Conceição, William's maid, and Julie, William's daughter, both trying to call the police, but Japa prevents them from doing it. Maguila and the children do not want to stay there, but Maguila wants first aid to be performed on his wound before leaving. Julie attempts to bandage him up, but when the fugitive trio are about to leave the house, Japa notices a police car nearby. Japa recommends that they to wait until it goes away, and Branquinha and Japa tie up the residents. While Maguila is exhausted due to his injury, Japa explores the house and Branquinha becomes fascinated by Julie, forcing her to take off her shirt so she can admire her breasts. The police car eventually disappears, but Maguila decides to rest. In this time, Marta, William's secretary, finds it odd that no one answers the doorbell, and calls the police.

Trapped inside the house, the children and William try to negotiate with the police to leave the place. They request the presence of an American ambassador, a children's rights non-governmental organization, and the press to assure their security. To show off to the police, Branquinha asks Julie to wear fancy clothes to give the appearance that she is safe. While the children are on the second floor choosing Julie's clothes for her appearance on television, Conceição manages to escape from the ties that held her. Japa instructs her to stop trying to release William from his ties and attempting to escape, which she refuses, leading Japa to accidentally kill her. After this, Japa and Branquinha argue about the best way to escape, and accidentally kill each other. The police then invade the home and rescue William and Julie.

Cast

Reception

At the 24th Gramado Film Festival, How Angels Are Born won five awards: Best Director, Critic's Award, Special Jury Award (Assum and Guindane), Best Cinematography (tied with Quem Matou Pixote? ), and Best Editing. [4] Sílvia won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 29th Brasília Film Festival, [5] while it was awarded the Best Film at the 23rd Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva. [6]

Luiz Zannin Oricchio, writing for O Estado de S. Paulo , called it "one of the best films of the so-called renaissance of Brazilian cinema". [7] The author of the book Splendors of Latin Cinema, Hernandez Rodriguez, declared it is "far from the visual rush, the intensity, and the perfection of style, as well as the visual of pyrotechnics of Cidade de Deus ", and said it is "definitely more interesting than Cidade dos Homens ". [8] The way children are represented in How Angels Are Born was commented by Italian Neorealism and Global Cinema's writers Laura E. Ruberto and Kristi M. Wilson, who compared it to Italian neorealism films. [9] Variety 's critic Ken Eisner praised Assum's performances, stating Branquinha was "played memorably" by her, as well as its cinematography, which helps "to offset plot claustrophobia". Eisner commented that "an apocalyptic ending provides a downbeat jolt to this generally smart and unpredictable drama." [10]

Notes

  1. ↑ An exactly date cannot be assumed, but the earliest report found about How Angels Are Born in theaters dates November 26, 1996. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>City of God</i> (2002 film) Epic crime film

City of God is a 2002 Brazilian epic action crime film directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund. Bráulio Mantovani's script is adapted from the 1997 novel of the same name written by Paulo Lins, but the plot is also loosely based on real events. It depicts the growth of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro, between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s, with the film's closure depicting the war between the drug dealer Li'l Zé and vigilante-turned-criminal Knockout Ned. The tagline is "If you run, the beast catches you; if you stay, the beast eats you."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sônia Braga</span> Brazilian actress

Sônia Maria Campos Braga is a Brazilian actress. She is known in the English-speaking world for her Golden Globe Award–nominated performances in Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) and Moon over Parador (1988). She also received a BAFTA Award nomination in 1981 for Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands. For the 1994 television film The Burning Season, she was nominated for an Emmy Award and a third Golden Globe Award. Her other television and film credits include The Cosby Show (1986), Sex and the City (2001), American Family (2002), Alias (2005), Aquarius (2016), Bacurau (2019), and Fatima (2020). In 2020, The New York Times ranked her #24 in its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.

<i>Orfeu</i> 1999 film directed by Carlos Diegues

Orfeu is a 1999 Brazilian romantic drama film directed by Carlos Diegues, and starring Toni Garrido, Patrícia França and Murilo Benício. Based on the play Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes, the film retells the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, setting it in the modern context of Rio de Janeiro during Carnival.

<i>Castelo Rá-Tim-Bum</i> (film) 1999 film directed by Cao Hamburger

Castelo Rá-Tim-Bum is a 1999 Brazilian film directed by Cao Hamburger, based on the Castelo Rá-Tim-Bum TV series.

<i>Entranced Earth</i> 1967 film

Entranced Earth is a 1967 Brazilian Cinema Novo drama film directed by Glauber Rocha. It was shot in Parque Lage and at the Municipal Theatre of Rio de Janeiro. The film is an allegory for the history of Brazil in the period 1960–1966.

<i>Perfume de Gardênia</i> 1992 film directed by Guilherme de Almeida Prado

Perfume de Gardênia is a 1992 Brazilian-Argentine drama film directed by Guilherme de Almeida Prado. It was screened at the 1992 Montreal World Film Festival. The filming took place in April 1991, with its production lasting until February 1992.

<i>The Invisible Collection</i> 2012 film directed by Bernard Attal

The Invisible Collection is a 2012 Brazilian drama film, directed by Bernard Attal and starring Vladimir Brichta, Walmor Chagas and Ludmila Rosa. The film is based on the 1925 short story of the same title by Stefan Zweig. It was shot in Salvador and Itajuípe, Bahia.

The 2nd Grande Prêmio Cinema Brasil ceremony, presented by the Ministry of Culture of Brazil, honored the best audiovisual productions of 2000 and took place on February 10, 2001, at the Palácio Quitandinha in the city of Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro beginning at 8:30 p.m. BRT. During the ceremony, the Ministry of Culture presented the Grande Prêmio Cinema Brasil in 18 categories. The ceremony, televised by TV Cultura and Televisão Educativa, was directed by Bia Lessa and hosted by stylist Felipe Veloso.

<i>Por Trás do Pano</i> 1999 film directed by Luiz Villaça

Por Trás do Pano is a 1999 Brazilian comedy-drama film directed by Luiz Villaça. It stars Denise Fraga, Pedro Cardoso, Luís Melo, Ester Góes and Marisa Orth. The plot follows the story of Helena (Fraga), an insecure actress who is married to Marcos (Cardoso), as she receives an invitation to perform in a play alongside the famous actor Sérgio (Melo), who lives a conjugal crisis with his wife Laís (Orth) due to his involvement with his former wife Alexandra (Góes).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carla Camurati</span> Brazilian actress and filmmaker

Carla Camurati is a Brazilian actress and filmmaker. She became notorious for acting in several Rede Globo telenovelas in the 1980s. She also acted on children's theater, starred in films—including Eternamente Pagú for which she won the Best Actress Award of Festival de Gramado—and was cover of the Brazilian edition of Playboy. In 1995, she debuted as a director with Carlota Joaquina, Princess of Brazil, an important mark in the period of Cinema of Brazil known as "Retomada". She was the director of Fundação Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro that administers the Teatro Municipal from 2007 to 2014.

<i>The Lady from the Shanghai Cinema</i> 1988 film directed by Guilherme de Almeida Prado

The Lady from the Shanghai Cinema is a 1988 Brazilian thriller film directed by Guilherme de Almeida Prado. The film borrows some references from Hollywood films noirs of the 1940s, mainly Orson Welles' The Lady from Shanghai; its name is a play on the title of Welles's film.

<i>Besame Mucho</i> (film) 1987 Brazilian film directed by Francisco Ramalho Jr.

Besame Mucho is a 1987 Brazilian romance drama film directed by Francisco Ramalho Jr., based on the play of the same name by Mário Prata.

<i>Mango Yellow</i> 2002 film by Cláudio Assis

Mango Yellow is a 2002 Brazilian drama film directed by Cláudio Assis. It stars Matheus Nachtergaele, Jonas Bloch, Dira Paes, Chico Díaz, and Leona Cavalli as working-class people who engage in amorous and social encounters, with most of the action taking place in a hotel and a bar. The directorial debut of Assis, the film was partially inspired by his previous short film Texas Hotel. It was filmed on a low budget in the suburbs of Pernambuco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Muylaert</span> Brazilian filmmaker

Ana Luiza Machado da Silva Muylaert, known professionally as Anna Muylaert, is a Brazilian film and television director, producer and screenwriter.

<i>Memórias Póstumas</i> 2001 film by André Klotzel

Memórias Póstumas is a 2001 comedy-drama film directed by André Klotzel based on The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas by Machado de Assis. It follows Brás Cubas, played by Reginaldo Faria and Petrônio Gontijo, as he recounts his life after his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alê Abreu</span> Brazilian film director and screenwriter (born 1971)

Alê Abreu is a Brazilian film director, screenwriter, character animator, film editor and producer. Sírius, his first short film, debuted at the 1993 Anima Mundi as the only Brazilian animation that year. It won the Best Film Award at the Festival de Cine para Niños y Jovenes and was also screened at the Mostra Internacional de Cinema São Paulo and at the section Animation for Children of the Hiroshima International Animation Festival. His second short film, Espantalho, released in 1998, won the 3rd Best Brazilian Animation at the Anima Mundi, the Best Art Direction Award at the Brazilian Film Festival of Miami, and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 1st Grande Prêmio Cinema Brasil. His first feature film, Garoto Cósmico, debuted at the 2007 Anima Mundi. In 2013, at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, he released his second film, Boy and the World. This film became an international success, was nominated at the 88th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, and won several prizes, including the Best Feature Film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and the Best Animated Feature-Independent at the Annie Awards.

<i>Something in the Air</i> (2002 film) 2002 film directed by Helvécio Ratton

Something in the Air is a 2002 Brazilian drama film directed by Helvécio Ratton. It is based on the actual history about Rádio Favela, a community radio broadcaster established in Aglomerado da Serra, a favela of Belo Horizonte in the 1980s. It shows how it was persecuted by the police while four friends try to keep the radio. Alexandre Moreno, Adolfo Moura, Babu Santana and Benjamim Abras were chosen to star the film after 3,000 people tried for their roles. It was shot in Aglomerado da Serra and used about 300 of the local people as extras.

Eduardo Escorel de Morais, most known as Eduardo Escorel, is a Brazilian film editor and director. He debuted as an editor on the Joaquim Pedro de Andrade's The Priest and the Girl (1965). With his first feature film, Lição de Amor, he won the Best Director Award at the 1976 Gramado Film Festival. He was also awarded Best Director for his second film, Ato de Violência, this time at the 1980 Brasília Film Festival. He won Best Editing Award for Guerra Conjugal and O Chamado de Deus at the 1974 and 2000 Brasília Film Festival respectively, and for Dois Perdidos numa Noite Suja at the 2002 Gramado Film Festival.

<i>Lucio Flavio</i> (film) 1977 film directed by Héctor Babenco

Lucio Flavio is a 1977 Brazilian film directed by Héctor Babenco based on the book of the same name by José Louzeiro, who co-wrote the screenplay. It stars Reginaldo Faria as Lúcio Flávio, a famous bandit in Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s. Babenco did not want to limit the story to Lúcio Flávio, and stated it was also a film about Esquadrão da Morte, a death squad from the 1960s.

Anjos do Arrabalde is a 1987 Brazilian drama film directed by Carlos Reichenbach.

References

  1. ↑ "Gramado". Folha de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). Grupo Folha. August 16, 1996. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Cinema". O Estado de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). Grupo Estado. November 26, 1996. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Filmes Brasileiros Lançados - 1995 a 2013" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Ancine. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Festival de Gramado – Premiados" (in Portuguese). Gramado Film Festival. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Brasília premia a nova produção brasileira". O Estado de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). Grupo Estado. November 6, 1996. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Histórico del Palmarés Oficial: 1991-2002" (in Spanish). Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva . Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Murilo Salles debate a questão social". O Estado de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). Grupo Estado. May 16, 1997. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  8. ↑ Rodriguez, Hernandez (2009). Splendors of Latin Cinema. ABC-CLIO. p. 93. ISBN   9780313349782 . Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  9. ↑ Ruberto, Laura E.; Wilson, Kristi M. (2007). Italian Neorealism and Global Cinema. Wayne State University Press. p. 179. ISBN   978-0814333242 . Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Review: 'How Angels Are Born'". Variety . November 30, 1996. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.