The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 66, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 14, 1978 Page: 6 of 14
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Diversity in Foreign Films
Bahia—Explore La Vida Tropical
Directed by Marcel Camus
Written by Marcel Camus and
Jorge Amado
Bahia is the latest instance of
the Greenway Theatre's
continuing effort to bring
diversity of culture to Houston
cinmema on a first-run basis.
( This is distinct from the Rice
Media Center, the River Oaks,
and the Museum of Fine Arts,
winch tend to screen movies
that are better known and/or
hallowed by time. ) It is the
second Brazilian film in recent
weeks, having replaced Dona
Fl« r and Her Two Husbands.
Unfortunately, Bahia matches
neither its predecessor nor the
theatre operator's noble
intentions.
Appropriately enough, the
movie deals with the state of
Bahia, and specifically its
capitol, Salvador. Had the
director been content to simply
let the vida tropical unfold
before the camera, (as he did
for the Carnaval scenes in his
justly famous 1959 film, Black
Orpheus), the picture would
probably have been far better.
As it is, the film's promising
beginning quickly degenerates
into silly highjinks and equally
silly melodrama. Although
both are based on stories by
Jorge Amado, Bahia lacks the
subtlety of wit which made
Dona Flor so enjoyable.
Even by Brazilian standards,
the people of Salvador are
considered a shiftless lot. The
city was made the capital of
Brazil in 1549, and things have
been down hill ever since. In the
movie, we are confronted by a
suitably motley crew, including
theives, gamblers, with
doctors, and countless whores
and madams. Besides
indolence and an extraordinary
capacity to party, the
characters share the same hill
on which they set up a
squatters' shanty town. The
authority's efforts to eradicate
the hovels are used to prop up
the plot whenever the
individual stories drag. This
device generates so little
tension that the last futile
police attack seems like it's
taken from one of those
innumerable kids-outsmart -
their-elders movies by Disney.
Camus also had problems
with staging the film. Since it is
set roughly forty years ago, he
and Andre Damage-his
director of photography- are
limited as to what they can
shoot. To avoid the skyscrapers
of the last twenty years, they
are forced to film most of the
movie outside the city. This
hampers the director's ability
to recreate the flowing style of
Black Orpheus , with its
beautiful panoramas of Rio de
Janeiro.
The best parts of Bahia
would probably be lost on the
moviegoer with no prior
knowledge of Brazil. For
instance, one must be aware of
the peculiar relationship
between witchcraft and the
Catholic Church to grasp the
irony in the early stages of the
film. Also, the audience needs
to be acquainted with the racial
situation in Bahia in order to
appreciate the bordello scene in
which Massu, an enormour Joe
Lewis look-a-like, is presented
with what presumably is his
illegitimate (blond and blue
eved) offspring.
Furthermore, and even more
disheartening, Camus fails to
take real advantage of the local
music, (Bahianos claim the
original samba to be their
own). Nevertheless, the
Campus Paperback bestsellers
September
1. The Thorn Birds, by Colleen McCullough. (Avon,
$2.50.) Australian family saga: fiction.
2. The Dragons of Eden, by Carl Sagan. (Ballantine,
$2.25.) The evolution of intelligence.
3. The Lawless, by John Jakes. (Jove/HBJ, $2.25.) Saga
of an American family, vol. VII: fiction.
* . Delta of Venus, by Anai's Nin. (Bantam, $2.50.) Elegant
erotica: fiction
5. Your Erroneous Zones, by Wayne W. Dyer. (Avon,
$2.25.) Self-help pep talk.
6. Looking Out for #1, by Robert Ringer. (Fawcett/Crest,
$2.50.) Getting your share.
7. The Book of Lists, by David Wallechinsky, Irving and
Amy Wallace. (Bantam, $2.50.) Entertaining facts.
8. Passages, by Gail Sheehy. (Bantam, $2.50.) Predicta-
ble crises of adult life.
9. Jaws 2, by Hank Searls. (Bantam, $2.25.) Gripping
shark sequel.
10. The Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks. (Ballantine,
$2.50.) Fantasy novel.
This list is compiled by The Chronicle of Higher Education from
information supplied by college stores throughout the country.
seemingly spontaneous
dancing is sensational.
The film's advertisement
states: "Bahia, there's no place
on earth like it." This is true,
but unfortunately you would
not know it from the movie.
By Franz Brotzen
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The Rice Thresher, September 14, 1978. page 6
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Heard, Michelle Leigh. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 66, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 14, 1978, newspaper, September 14, 1978; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245378/m1/6/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.