Glauber Rocha’s Black God, White Devil / Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol one of the founding works of modern Brazilian cinema by one of the key figures of Brazil’s leftist Cinema Novo movement, runs at Film Forum in New York City in a new 4K restoration from Friday, November 17 to Thursday, November 23.
Somewhere in the Brazilian hinterlands of the 1940s, ranch hand Manoel (Geraldo Del Rey) becomes an outlaw after killing his swindling boss. He pledges allegiance to Sebastião (Lidio Silva), a self-styled holy man who preaches revolt against rich landowners even as he perpetrates unspeakable acts of violent zealotry against the innocent. While the landowners hire a mercenary (Maurício do Valle) to take out Sebastião, Manoel and his wife Rosa (Yoná Magalhães) join cangaceiros Corisco (Othon Bastos) and Dadá (Sonia Dos Humildes), only to find themselves once more in league with evil, deluded forces.
Steeped in history, myth, religion, and politics, and suffused with the feverish intensity of the blistering desert, Black God, White Devil is an uncompromising statement on contemporary social issues and the dangers of mindless fanaticism.
Cinema Novo directors set out to make films that confronted the social realities of Brazil's underdeveloped society, often working on location, with small budgets and local talent. Rocha was the central figure of Cinema Novo, the 1960s movement of some thirty young Brazilian filmmakers who created a national cinema of international importance.
Watch the new 4K restoration trailer:
