Antonio das Mortes

Glauber Rocha’s color sequel to Black God, White Devil deals with the coming to political consciousness of the mercenary jagunço Antonio das Mortes, a paid killer of rebels and bandits in the backlands of Brazil. Even more stylized and operatic than Black God, Antonio das Mortes is as much a revolutionary cultural expression as a political allegory. In its flamboyant transformation of native folk art and mystical traditions, it is a highly original assertion of cultural values long suppressed: Its “tropicalist” style reflected newly formulated aesthetic principles in the Cinema Novo movement that never had a chance to flourish. It was derailed by censorship and repression in Brazil.