Brazilian films are not shown very frequently on television, probably because few North Americans speak Portuguese, and films with subtitles are often not the easiest to follow on the small screen. When I saw that Xica was scheduled to be shown by our cable company, I was very interested, firstly because I enjoy the visual appeal of period films which show the architecture and costumes of past times, secondly because the Director, Carlos Diegues, has had an active and successful career that now spans over 40 years and has made him very highly regarded outside Brazil, and finally because the story of how a Negro slave Xica da Silva was able not only to obtain her freedom but also to achieve both wealth and power in colonial eighteenth century Brazil is a very interesting one. The story of Xica was told in a book "Chica que Manda" by Agripa Vasconcelos and, since I first saw the original film, this story has become much better known through a long running Brazilian TV serial of the type known as a Telenovela (or Television Novel) based on the book. Unlike the original film this Brazilian soap opera has been dubbed in several languages and quite widely marketed, but the number of episodes created makes me feel that most of it probably has little relationship to the historical story as it is known. Those interested in Brazil during the colonial period would therefore probably do better to watch the now elusive videotape of this 1976 film, or urge the release of a dubbed version in DVD form.
Brazilian society of the time barely recognised slaves (who were never allowed into churches, even if they eventually became so elderly that they were granted their freedom). It also featured strong colour prejudice, gave few rights to any women and encouraged beliefs in black magic and witchcraft to an extent which permitted great injustices to take place. These characteristics mean that the story of Xica's success, as shown in this film, was probably unique. It is not however fiction, although it has certainly become sufficiently legendary to have been embellished a little over the years. Carlos Diegues has himself described his film as " ...... a multicoloured butterfly resting on the white wall of a colonial church" and has intimated that it is partly based on legend and myth, but demonstrates the possibility of achieving freedom (in multiple senses) through love. He has also emphasised that much of it was deliberately intended as comedy. Over 8 million people saw the film in Brazil within six months of its release.
Historically all we know is that Joao Fernandes had a contract to recover diamonds for the Portuguese government in the Brazilian State of Minas Gervais. When he got there he was seduced by a slave belonging to the town's Master Sergeant and was so captivated that he purchased her. Fernandes ran government mining operations from 1739 to 1773. By using local knowledge of the location of deposits, together with improved extraction techniques, he vastly increased production and became so rich that Lisbon eventually recognised he might become a threat and recalled him in 1773. During this period he freed Xica and built her a palatial residence where she lived in luxury although she was never recognised as part of the colonial society of the town, and also unwisely retaliated against many local people who had abused her as a slave. After Fernandes' recall she was not surprisingly driven from her palace and took refuge with Jose, the son of the town Sergeant, who by then had rebelled against the government and become an outlaw. Clearly as a black slave Xica would have had no education and no possessions - her attractiveness would have been purely sexual - history does not record what special powers she had in this regard but they were clearly not just transient. A film with this theme inevitably includes some sex and a great deal of nudity, those who would be offended by this should not watch it. However it is uniformly well acted, with Zeze Motta taking the title role and Walmor Chagas playing the part of Joao. It provides fascinating viewing. I have attempted to trace further information about both the period and Xica's story but this is not easy as contemporary records are all in Portuguese. However there was a very helpful article in the journal "JUMP CUT - A Review of Contemporary Media", written by Randal Johnson and published in issue #22, May 1980. This provides a great deal of valuable background material about both the film and the story, making it much easier to follow when watching it for the first time. (At the time of writing, this article can be found on the web through Google).
My final opinion of this film (which is certainly coloured by my lack of knowledge of either the Portuguese language or its colonial culture) is that although it is far from great it provides a very interesting historical biography of a fascinating character, made by a competent director with an excellent cast. Anyone with an interest in either this culture or modern Brazilian cinema should take the opportunity to see the film if it arises. The distributors should also consider releasing it in DVD format, with dubbed sound tracks in several languages for international distribution, as there would probably be enough movie fans in the two categories above to make this a viable proposition. My comments were written primarily to recommend this, and I would certainly buy a copy. I do not re-watch my rather poor tape copy very often, but have done so enough to feel it is time I replaced it.
Brazilian society of the time barely recognised slaves (who were never allowed into churches, even if they eventually became so elderly that they were granted their freedom). It also featured strong colour prejudice, gave few rights to any women and encouraged beliefs in black magic and witchcraft to an extent which permitted great injustices to take place. These characteristics mean that the story of Xica's success, as shown in this film, was probably unique. It is not however fiction, although it has certainly become sufficiently legendary to have been embellished a little over the years. Carlos Diegues has himself described his film as " ...... a multicoloured butterfly resting on the white wall of a colonial church" and has intimated that it is partly based on legend and myth, but demonstrates the possibility of achieving freedom (in multiple senses) through love. He has also emphasised that much of it was deliberately intended as comedy. Over 8 million people saw the film in Brazil within six months of its release.
Historically all we know is that Joao Fernandes had a contract to recover diamonds for the Portuguese government in the Brazilian State of Minas Gervais. When he got there he was seduced by a slave belonging to the town's Master Sergeant and was so captivated that he purchased her. Fernandes ran government mining operations from 1739 to 1773. By using local knowledge of the location of deposits, together with improved extraction techniques, he vastly increased production and became so rich that Lisbon eventually recognised he might become a threat and recalled him in 1773. During this period he freed Xica and built her a palatial residence where she lived in luxury although she was never recognised as part of the colonial society of the town, and also unwisely retaliated against many local people who had abused her as a slave. After Fernandes' recall she was not surprisingly driven from her palace and took refuge with Jose, the son of the town Sergeant, who by then had rebelled against the government and become an outlaw. Clearly as a black slave Xica would have had no education and no possessions - her attractiveness would have been purely sexual - history does not record what special powers she had in this regard but they were clearly not just transient. A film with this theme inevitably includes some sex and a great deal of nudity, those who would be offended by this should not watch it. However it is uniformly well acted, with Zeze Motta taking the title role and Walmor Chagas playing the part of Joao. It provides fascinating viewing. I have attempted to trace further information about both the period and Xica's story but this is not easy as contemporary records are all in Portuguese. However there was a very helpful article in the journal "JUMP CUT - A Review of Contemporary Media", written by Randal Johnson and published in issue #22, May 1980. This provides a great deal of valuable background material about both the film and the story, making it much easier to follow when watching it for the first time. (At the time of writing, this article can be found on the web through Google).
My final opinion of this film (which is certainly coloured by my lack of knowledge of either the Portuguese language or its colonial culture) is that although it is far from great it provides a very interesting historical biography of a fascinating character, made by a competent director with an excellent cast. Anyone with an interest in either this culture or modern Brazilian cinema should take the opportunity to see the film if it arises. The distributors should also consider releasing it in DVD format, with dubbed sound tracks in several languages for international distribution, as there would probably be enough movie fans in the two categories above to make this a viable proposition. My comments were written primarily to recommend this, and I would certainly buy a copy. I do not re-watch my rather poor tape copy very often, but have done so enough to feel it is time I replaced it.