Abstract
This article examines filmmaker Paulo Gil Soares’s early work with a particular focus on the documentary O Homem de Couro (1969/70), in the context of Brazil’s military dictatorship (1964-85), the documentary-film initiative known as the “Farkas Caravan,” and 1960s-era Brazilian documentary more broadly. I argue that Soares’s O Homem de Couro represents an audiovisual renewal and revision of Euclides da Cunha’s portrayal of the northeastern vaqueiro in Os Sertões (1902). In the film, Soares’s depiction of the vaqueiro served as both a tribute to these national folk heroes and a reminder to viewers that da Cunha’s scathing turn-of-the-century portrait of the northeastern social order should not be considered a relic of the past. Timeless northeastern verses drive the narrative, reinforcing that message. In this way, Soares made a film that was both beautiful and denunciatory without resorting to pedagogical voiceovers or orthodox dogma. He meanwhile updated key elements of Os Sertões for the 1960s and ‘70s. Soares offered subjectivity that was lacking in da Cunha’s account, discrediting da Cunha’s nineteenth-century biological and geographical determinism. He also documented inauspicious shifts in this labor market that threatened the vaqueiro’s future. In the early 1970s, Soares would go on to found the influential documentary-journalism program Globo Repórter. By focusing on his work with the Farkas Caravan, this article contributes a new perspective on a key but previously overlooked element in the formation of the Brazilian school of documentary film and journalism, and on the enduring legacies of da Cunha’s work.
Highlights
Documentary Film in 1960s BrazilThe 1960s was a decade of revolutions, and a revolution in documentary filmmaking helped capture them all
Muniz organized a retrospective of the Farkas productions. He collected brief written commentaries from the filmmakers, including Eduardo Escorel, who made the lighthearted remark that, “Before the Caravana Holiday that Carlos Diegues canonized in Bye Bye Brasil, there was another caravan that departed from São Paulo to comb the Northeast
Just as da Cunha dedicated pages of his denunciation of the Canudos massacre to the vaqueiros’ heroism, Soares dedicated this film to celebrating that way of life within his denunciatory project, with clear audiovisual citations of Os Sertões
Summary
The 1960s was a decade of revolutions, and a revolution in documentary filmmaking helped capture them all. As Farkas suggested, part of capturing that diversity meant documenting popular cultural practices that, for the filmmakers as well as for a foundational national literary tradition before them — turn-of-the-century writers such as Capistrano de Abreu and Euclides da Cunha — constituted the heart of the Brazilian nation. Soares’s revisions of da Cunha’s account re-examined aspects of that work that were, by the mid-twentieth century, decidedly outmoded One such revision was to provide subjectivity that was lacking in Os Sertões: the viewer gets to know individual vaqueiros in this film. Muniz organized a retrospective of the Farkas productions He collected brief written commentaries from the filmmakers, including Eduardo Escorel, who made the lighthearted remark that, “Before the Caravana Holiday that Carlos Diegues canonized in Bye Bye Brasil, there was another caravan that departed from São Paulo to comb the Northeast. That film appears to have never been finished (ALENCAR, 1966; CURY, 13)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
