O Ebrio (1946) is a cynical representation from Brazilian National Cinema about the hardships of life, as viewed through the protagonist, Gilberto Silva. It is very much a product of this National cinema, which approached story-telling in its own way and dealt with issues pertaining to every-day Brazilians, instead of catering to the Western (or more appropriately, American) idea of the exotic Brazil. The tale is told in a cyclical fashion, with the allusion that he began life well-off, then fell into hard times and was homeless, only to regain prosperity and finally lose it for good. There is very little that is positive in the film, focusing more on the disloyalty of friends, the lack of compassion of ordinary citizens, and the lack of loyalty with spouses. The only positive in the film is the church and children, both of which are shown as loving and innocent. This is an interesting film because it does not really include any of the stereotypes that we see in abundance in Hollywood films. Quite the contrary, if it weren’t for the ethnicities of some of the subservient characters within the story, we might well have assumed that it was a European film. What struck me the most about this film’s “Brazil” was that it was very modern. We do not see what we usually think of when we think Brazil. There are no jungles, not exotic animal, and no Amazon. The “Brazil” in this film is composed of cities, with contemporary architecture and containing the urban issues found in any other major city of the world. The story, instead of being riddled with Brazilian clichés, is instead a domestic drama in which the protagonist faces real life issues. He struggles to find his place in the world, to gain his medical license, and to try and do good in the world. He tries to forgive the family that rejected him when he fell on hard times, only to be plotted against by those who were now jealous of what he had been able to achieve. The second area in which I found this film to stand apart from Hollywood cinema was the ending. This film could very easily have fallen into Hollywood conventions in how the characters met up in the same bar at the end of the film. Marieta, having been swindled by her lover and left destitute, runs into her believed to be dead husband, Gilberto, who was now a wandering drunk. In a Hollywood film, the two would forget the past and fall back into each other’s arms, finding solace and live happily ever after. Instead, after the situation was explained, Gilberto forgives Marieta, but states that though he can forgive, there had been too much hurt and could never be the same. We see him wander off, a lonely drunkard, singing a solemn song about his life that had been irreparably damaged.
Released in 1946, Gilda de Abreu’s O ebrio chronicles the rise and fall of Gilberto Silva, a demoralized aspiring doctor with a hidden musical talent. Throughout the film, Gilberto’s journey acts as a vehicle for examining the columns of Brazilian identity: mainly religion and gender. In the beginning of the film, Gilberto wanders into a church where a Priest offers him dinner and shelter. As the story unfolds, the viewer becomes increasing aware of the barrage of religious icons captured on camera. Decorative crosses cover every wall of the church and a momentous figure of the Holy Son resides above the altar. When the priest propositions Gilberto to move into the Church, a cross hanging from a background wall dominates the top–center portion of the screen for several minutes, implying that Christianity assumes a role in Gilberto’s salvation. Such iconology reappears in the wedding scene between Marieta and Silva, where an oversized Christ effigy looms over the newlyweds, symbolic of the religious bonds of matrimony. Christian symbols permeate O ebrio, both proselytizing to the audience and gesturing to Brazil’s predominant Roman Catholic population. Despite the bombardment of religious iconography, O ebrio gestures numerous times to the themes of adultery and betrayal, highlighting de Abreu’s positioning of melodrama as a genre.
Although adultery and betrayal contradict the film’s numerous religious messages, these themes generate drama and entertainment for the audience. Early in the film, Marieta threatens the fidelity of her marriage to Gilberto by engaging in shameless flirtation with her cousin-in-law, Jose. She eventually leaves Gilberto to pursue a romance with Jose, who is simultaneously involved with Lola, the fourth point in the film’s two interconnected love triangles.
For a female filmmaker in a male-dominated profession, de Abreu makes an interesting commentary on gender identity in Brazil. The first three characters introduced in the film are all male; not until Gilberto finishes his studies and becomes a doctor does de Abreu introduce the first major female character, Marieta, one in a series of women to provoke confrontation, usually at the urging of a male character. Gilberto’s cousins, half of whom are women, collectively plan to weasel their way into Gilberto’s will. Lola, a pawn in Jose’s plan, poses as Gilberto’s lover, sabotaging his marriage. Under the impression that Gilberto has been unfaithful, Marieta leaves him, destroying his morale and driving him to drink. Overall, women are portrayed as weak, impressionable creatures who succumb to man’s every wish. Perhaps de Abreu presented women this way to fall into the vein of the time’s more popular productions; however, that decision would confirm the cinema’s representation of women as weak-minded, second-hand citizens inhabiting a world structured and dictated by men.
Although often tainted with motives of wealth, these many romances emphasize the Brazilian affinity for passion and matters of the heart. These penchants also emerge in the unveiling of Gilberto’s identity. Whether assuming the role of a successful doctor or a drunkard and a nobody, Gilberto maintains his function as the hero of the film, mainly due to his natural musical ability and voice. This implies that the essence of Brazilian identity lies not in matters of the mind, such as occupation or money, but in matters of the soul, including love, passion and music.
O Ébrio is a typical product of National Cinema of Brazil which presents the daily life of a Brazilian, Gilberto Silva. In this film, I did not see any representative Brazil element such as Samba, Carnival or sun-shine beach, but the tragedy life cycle of its protagonist ironically reflects the social morality in 1940s. On the other hand, the film has a large number of religious elements which implies the noble of the church in Brazil. The story starts with Gilberto’s hard situation. His family business is failed and his father spent all the money to pay the debt. Gilberto has no money to continue his medical school. He roams on the street and his relatives are not willing to help him. The opening scenario shows the fickleness of life and the society. Gilberto walks into a church and asks help from Jesus. This is the turning point of Gilberto’s life. The priest walks out and invites Gilberto to have dinner with him. Gilberto stays in church a few days and he finds out that the priest has a kind heart but has not enough money. Gilberto’s life in the church implies the glorious of Jesus and gives people a hope to walk out of the darkness. Then, Gilberto decides to find a job, so he can live on his own. Gilberto has great talents on music, he win the singing competition. Through a montage, Gilberto finally graduates from medical school and becomes a respected doctor. Then, he gets married with a beautiful nurse, Marieta. So far, Gilberto’s life likes a smooth sailing. This section of the film is very positive which tells people a simple rule that hard working leads to success. However, the married with Marieta is a beginning of another sorrow. Marieta is not loyal to her husband. She always flirts with Gilberto’s cousin. Finally, Marieta runs away from Gilberto with her lover. Gilberto’s life falls to the bottom again. He uses alcohol to get rid of sorrow and becomes an O Ébrio. Most of times, we usually see a happy ending of a movie, but this O Ébrio is very negative. The film illustrates the society in 1940s or earlier. In that era, Brazil was experiencing a modernize transition. The economic is booming, the life style is changing, etc. In short, that is a very materialistic era in the history. Money is the paramount in many people’s mind. As in the film, family, love, moral and religious believe can be abandoned. Anomic is always a major problem in economic development. Obviously, the director holds a very negative view on the society. Gilberto is totally disappointed of the society. He chooses to be an O Ébrio rather than go back to his life. Thus, this film is a rethinking of modernization. What did Brazilian society lose on their way to be modern?
This movie is constantly in reference to money and the power it can have over some people, but aligning with that motif, is the power love and the heart has over people. Just as Gilberto loses his farm and wealth in the beginning of the story, but he also loses the love of his family, which drives him to the drunken state he was in, but his life is reached out to none other than someone who preaches love. Gilberto’s then passionately falls in love with Marietta, but as does his cousin, and so he tries to split them apart. As well as money allows Gilberto to go back to school, which leads him to his love, Marietta, it tears him apart as well when his family members become greedy in asking for money from him constantly.
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O Ebrio (1946) is a cynical representation from Brazilian National Cinema about the hardships of life, as viewed through the protagonist, Gilberto Silva. It is very much a product of this National cinema, which approached story-telling in its own way and dealt with issues pertaining to every-day Brazilians, instead of catering to the Western (or more appropriately, American) idea of the exotic Brazil. The tale is told in a cyclical fashion, with the allusion that he began life well-off, then fell into hard times and was homeless, only to regain prosperity and finally lose it for good. There is very little that is positive in the film, focusing more on the disloyalty of friends, the lack of compassion of ordinary citizens, and the lack of loyalty with spouses. The only positive in the film is the church and children, both of which are shown as loving and innocent. This is an interesting film because it does not really include any of the stereotypes that we see in abundance in Hollywood films. Quite the contrary, if it weren’t for the ethnicities of some of the subservient characters within the story, we might well have assumed that it was a European film. What struck me the most about this film’s “Brazil” was that it was very modern. We do not see what we usually think of when we think Brazil. There are no jungles, not exotic animal, and no Amazon. The “Brazil” in this film is composed of cities, with contemporary architecture and containing the urban issues found in any other major city of the world. The story, instead of being riddled with Brazilian clichés, is instead a domestic drama in which the protagonist faces real life issues. He struggles to find his place in the world, to gain his medical license, and to try and do good in the world. He tries to forgive the family that rejected him when he fell on hard times, only to be plotted against by those who were now jealous of what he had been able to achieve. The second area in which I found this film to stand apart from Hollywood cinema was the ending. This film could very easily have fallen into Hollywood conventions in how the characters met up in the same bar at the end of the film. Marieta, having been swindled by her lover and left destitute, runs into her believed to be dead husband, Gilberto, who was now a wandering drunk. In a Hollywood film, the two would forget the past and fall back into each other’s arms, finding solace and live happily ever after. Instead, after the situation was explained, Gilberto forgives Marieta, but states that though he can forgive, there had been too much hurt and could never be the same. We see him wander off, a lonely drunkard, singing a solemn song about his life that had been irreparably damaged.
Released in 1946, Gilda de Abreu’s O ebrio chronicles the rise and fall of Gilberto Silva, a demoralized aspiring doctor with a hidden musical talent. Throughout the film, Gilberto’s journey acts as a vehicle for examining the columns of Brazilian identity: mainly religion and gender. In the beginning of the film, Gilberto wanders into a church where a Priest offers him dinner and shelter. As the story unfolds, the viewer becomes increasing aware of the barrage of religious icons captured on camera. Decorative crosses cover every wall of the church and a momentous figure of the Holy Son resides above the altar. When the priest propositions Gilberto to move into the Church, a cross hanging from a background wall dominates the top–center portion of the screen for several minutes, implying that Christianity assumes a role in Gilberto’s salvation. Such iconology reappears in the wedding scene between Marieta and Silva, where an oversized Christ effigy looms over the newlyweds, symbolic of the religious bonds of matrimony. Christian symbols permeate O ebrio, both proselytizing to the audience and gesturing to Brazil’s predominant Roman Catholic population. Despite the bombardment of religious iconography, O ebrio gestures numerous times to the themes of adultery and betrayal, highlighting de Abreu’s positioning of melodrama as a genre.
Although adultery and betrayal contradict the film’s numerous religious messages, these themes generate drama and entertainment for the audience. Early in the film, Marieta threatens the fidelity of her marriage to Gilberto by engaging in shameless flirtation with her cousin-in-law, Jose. She eventually leaves Gilberto to pursue a romance with Jose, who is simultaneously involved with Lola, the fourth point in the film’s two interconnected love triangles.
For a female filmmaker in a male-dominated profession, de Abreu makes an interesting commentary on gender identity in Brazil. The first three characters introduced in the film are all male; not until Gilberto finishes his studies and becomes a doctor does de Abreu introduce the first major female character, Marieta, one in a series of women to provoke confrontation, usually at the urging of a male character. Gilberto’s cousins, half of whom are women, collectively plan to weasel their way into Gilberto’s will. Lola, a pawn in Jose’s plan, poses as Gilberto’s lover, sabotaging his marriage. Under the impression that Gilberto has been unfaithful, Marieta leaves him, destroying his morale and driving him to drink. Overall, women are portrayed as weak, impressionable creatures who succumb to man’s every wish. Perhaps de Abreu presented women this way to fall into the vein of the time’s more popular productions; however, that decision would confirm the cinema’s representation of women as weak-minded, second-hand citizens inhabiting a world structured and dictated by men.
Although often tainted with motives of wealth, these many romances emphasize the Brazilian affinity for passion and matters of the heart. These penchants also emerge in the unveiling of Gilberto’s identity. Whether assuming the role of a successful doctor or a drunkard and a nobody, Gilberto maintains his function as the hero of the film, mainly due to his natural musical ability and voice. This implies that the essence of Brazilian identity lies not in matters of the mind, such as occupation or money, but in matters of the soul, including love, passion and music.
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O Ébrio is a typical product of National Cinema of Brazil which presents the daily life of a Brazilian, Gilberto Silva. In this film, I did not see any representative Brazil element such as Samba, Carnival or sun-shine beach, but the tragedy life cycle of its protagonist ironically reflects the social morality in 1940s. On the other hand, the film has a large number of religious elements which implies the noble of the church in Brazil.
The story starts with Gilberto’s hard situation. His family business is failed and his father spent all the money to pay the debt. Gilberto has no money to continue his medical school. He roams on the street and his relatives are not willing to help him. The opening scenario shows the fickleness of life and the society. Gilberto walks into a church and asks help from Jesus. This is the turning point of Gilberto’s life. The priest walks out and invites Gilberto to have dinner with him. Gilberto stays in church a few days and he finds out that the priest has a kind heart but has not enough money. Gilberto’s life in the church implies the glorious of Jesus and gives people a hope to walk out of the darkness. Then, Gilberto decides to find a job, so he can live on his own. Gilberto has great talents on music, he win the singing competition. Through a montage, Gilberto finally graduates from medical school and becomes a respected doctor. Then, he gets married with a beautiful nurse, Marieta. So far, Gilberto’s life likes a smooth sailing. This section of the film is very positive which tells people a simple rule that hard working leads to success. However, the married with Marieta is a beginning of another sorrow. Marieta is not loyal to her husband. She always flirts with Gilberto’s cousin. Finally, Marieta runs away from Gilberto with her lover. Gilberto’s life falls to the bottom again. He uses alcohol to get rid of sorrow and becomes an O Ébrio.
Most of times, we usually see a happy ending of a movie, but this O Ébrio is very negative. The film illustrates the society in 1940s or earlier. In that era, Brazil was experiencing a modernize transition. The economic is booming, the life style is changing, etc. In short, that is a very materialistic era in the history. Money is the paramount in many people’s mind. As in the film, family, love, moral and religious believe can be abandoned. Anomic is always a major problem in economic development. Obviously, the director holds a very negative view on the society. Gilberto is totally disappointed of the society. He chooses to be an O Ébrio rather than go back to his life. Thus, this film is a rethinking of modernization. What did Brazilian society lose on their way to be modern?
This movie is constantly in reference to money and the power it can have over some people, but aligning with that motif, is the power love and the heart has over people. Just as Gilberto loses his farm and wealth in the beginning of the story, but he also loses the love of his family, which drives him to the drunken state he was in, but his life is reached out to none other than someone who preaches love. Gilberto’s then passionately falls in love with Marietta, but as does his cousin, and so he tries to split them apart. As well as money allows Gilberto to go back to school, which leads him to his love, Marietta, it tears him apart as well when his family members become greedy in asking for money from him constantly.
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