Jackson Booth-Millard
I found this Brazilian / Portugese film in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, it certainly had an interesting sounding title, so I was looking forward to seeing what it would be about, directed by Glauber Rocha (Entranced Earth). Basically set in the 1940s during another drought in the sertão (outback), common rural worker and ranch hand Manuel (Geraldo Del Rey) is dissatisfied with his current situation. He kills his boss when he tries to cheat him of his earnings, and he flees, leaving his wife Rosa (Yoná Magalhães), becoming an outlaw and descending further into a life of crime. Manuel joins up with self-proclaimed saint, in fact bandit and hired gunman Antônio das Mortes (Maurício do Valle), he condones violence, even at one point slaughtering a baby, and preaches disturbing statements of his plans or beliefs. Rosa also turns to a life of crime, and Manuel joins the gang of Antônio's sworn enemy, Corisco the Blond Devil (Othon Bastos), and the Pedra Bonita Massacre. Also starring Lidio Silva as Sebastiãn, Sonia Dos Humildes as Dadá, João Gama as Priest and Antônio Pinto as Colonel. This film blends together mysticism, religion and popular culture to create a symbolic and realistic drama, and one of the characters goes by the logic that man must determine his path by his own voice, I just remember this black and white film having quite a few dark moments and many longs takes and montages, it makes for an interesting crime drama. Good!
Tim Kidner
I loved the first two-thirds of this jaw-dropping epic. For my second viewing, this time with a friend, we both agreed that it fell to pieces after that point, becoming incoherent and unfathomable, whilst still being stylish and remaining 'strange'.The visual sense was part 'Aguirre, Wrath of God' and Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon a Time in the West'. But, in grainy, high contrast black & white. Camera movements are urgent rather than flowing with the odd editing flourish to enliven the action. We both found this approach initially utterly mesmerising.This film is of hardcore fanaticism, with religious bigotry and the sheer survival in the harsh scrub desert-lands of northern Brazil. Some scenes are reminiscent of Russian cinematic masterpieces by Eisentstein, as in Ivan the Terrible. I think some scenes will offend and appal many viewers whilst still retaining mystery and that 'Wow, this is something totally different and exciting'. The sort of film that has the critics swooning but with the actual film-lover rather less than overawed. I'd rather not go into all the narrative in and outs, mostly because it is the overall effect and impression that it has left on me. Unforgettable, true; daring and significant, undoubtedly. But that doesn't make it a film any easier to watch, though. I would give the first two thirds 9/10 and the remainder five.
Boba_Fett1138
Nothing wrong with a movie that is being a bit slower and different, as long as it fascinates. And this movie does that well.It's an unusual movie, with an unusual approach and story. This is not a slick Hollywood movie here but an artistic South-American one. It doesn't really follow any familiar movie rules but having said that, this movie at the same time still remains a perfectly accessible one.Even though there are of course some deeper meanings behind it all, the movie never feels too serious or heavy handed. The movie actually still manages to entertain as well, which is for most part thanks to its very lively characters, who especially come to live in its second half. Most people seem to have most problems with the movie its second half but I actually do think that this was the strongest and most intriguing part of the entire movie, since it seemed to focus more purely on its characters and less on its story, that is a complicated one to follow and completely understand. What I foremost love about this movie is that it's being shot like a western, while it's actually a totally different genre movie, set in Brazil. The cinematography, directing, characters and such still make this movie really feel and look like a good old spaghetti western.Due to its directing approach and way of storytelling this is a very visual orientated movie. Even though it can be a slow movie at times, its visuals still manages to fully keep you interested throughout. It's black & white cinematography does ensure this well.No need and reason to overpraise this movie but it remains simply a good and special one to watch.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
giantbunny24
The copy that I had of this film was very poorly transferred so I couldn't read the subtitles very well, so forgive me as this commentary may not be altogether accurate. As I see it Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol is about a man who is caught in the duality of things. He tries to do good, but ends up doing bad. He is called Satan at one point in the film. This duality reflects the duality of life. Who's to say what's good and what's bad? Are so-called priests who molest children people to be revered. Are these just a few rouges or is it the institution that is corrupt? In the face of injustice people have been known to do some terrible things. Communism, a reaction to the injustice of capitalism, lead to Stalinism and Maoism which became their own forms of oppression (the oxy-moron of the dictatorship of the proletariat). We see this resistance to the oppression of capitalism in the liberation theologist Saint Sebastian, but as many great leaders do, such as Jim Jones, power went to his head and he began preaching insane doctrines. At the same time, the catholic church sees the radical as dangerous, not because he is encouraging the people to leave Christianity (on the contrary, he preaches Christianity) but because he is disrupting the status quo and getting the people to think differently about their situation in life. In this way saint sebastian is very much a materialist, despite his Christianity. He preaches violence as a way of getting what you want and appeasement of the gods can mean material gain. Saint Sebastian is himself a paradox, and paradox is the theme of the film. We must ask ourselves, why was the title Black God, White Devil chosen for the English version of this film? Is the black god sebastian and the white devil the man who kills everybody towards the end (I never got his name)? I think the black god and white devil are the yin and the yang of existence: the very duality of man; the god and the devil within all of us.
AD
