O'Ebrio Analysis (Full Paper)

O’ Ébrio is a classic tale of love and betrayal through Brazilian filmmaking. The interesting fact is that in this film, it was not what was to be expected. First we encountered the stereotypes that are linked to not only Brazilian Film, but also the Brazilian culture all in itself. It reflected not Brazilian story, but a story that could be understood by all. This is because certain aspects of Brazil are not depicted or shown as most other Brazilian films will show certain aspects of the country to make sure the viewer is aware they are in Brazil. Here, this was not the case.

In O’ Ébrio we find a man wandering into a church of all places. Obviously this man is a drunk. Here we can say yes, we found a stereotype within this film, but this stereotype is not specific to Brazil, but it’s just a stereotype of where a drunken man would wonder when his life has fallen apart. You can do this throughout the whole film of finding stereotypes of things not specific to Brazil. The interesting thing about this is that this drunk, by the name of Gilberto, comes to meet a priest in this church in which the priest poses a question to Gilberto. Would Gilberto help the priest with a favor? Not knowing what the priest had in store for him with this favor, Gilberto seems to say he will help the priest, because who is not to help a priest with a favor within his own church? That is just another stereotype we fall upon within this film, but of course the priests favor consists of him having a chicken that was just too big for him to eat by himself, so he invites Gilberto, to lonesome man who we have yet to learn anything about, into a church. We come to learn this man has been struggling because his family once owned a farm, but his father let the company go bankrupt because it was poorly managed, and Gilberto tried to go back to school, but it was too late, and he counted on his family members, but they were not there to help so now they all avoid him. This brief explanation of Gilberto’s past allows the viewer to recognize why he is in the position of a lonesome drunk and create a sense of sympathy for Gilberto.

We, the viewer, immediately recognize with the Priest and understand his sympathy for letting the man in, in which why the viewer gets a sense of relaxation because we now understand that this character of Gilberto will have a place to stay with the priest while he looks for jobs. In doing so, he ends up making money singing and becomes a very well known singer, goes back to school, becomes a doctor and meets a nurse who is replacing one of his other nurses for the week. This nurse he meets goes by the name of Marietta, and she states ‘She’s not like the others.’ This statement will stay with the viewer throughout the film. He ends up marrying the girl, and gaining back the love of his relatives (or so he thinks). Really his family members are out to get his money and live off of him essentially, and his cousin is not only doing that, but also trying to steal away his wife, in which he does successfully breaking them apart by tricking Marietta, Gilberto’s wife, that Gilberto is having an affair. The viewer in this instance starts to feel the sympathy for Gilberto, as he has come to work so hard to regain his life only to come and loose it again due to his relatives poor decisions, to only fake his death.

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.