The best Irandhir Santos’s movies
We present our ranking of the best Irandhir Santos’s movies. Do you love cinema? Or are you looking for a movie of your favorite actor to watch tonight? Surely you have some to see or that you did not know yet about Irandhir Santos.
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
8/10
After a bloody invasion of the BOPE in the High-Security Penitentiary Bangu 1 in Rio de Janeiro to control a rebellion of interns, the Lieutenant-Colonel Roberto Nascimento and the second in command Captain André Matias are accused by the Human Right Aids member Diogo Fraga of execution of prisoners. Matias is transferred to the corrupted Military Police and Nascimento is exonerated from the BOPE by the Governor.
Aquarius
7.4/10
Clara, a vibrant former music critic and widow with flowing tresses is the only remaining apartment owner in a beautiful older building targeted for demolition by ruthless luxury high-rise developers. Clara proves to be a force to be reckoned with as she thwarts the builders plans to kick her out of the apartment.
Tattoo
7.2/10
Paulete, the star of a daring theater group, is visited by his military brother-in-law, the young Fininha. A torrid relationship arises between the two, and now the soldier must deal with the prevailing repression during the Brazilian military dictatorship.
Neighboring Sounds
7.1/10
Life in a middle-class neighbourhood in present day Recife, Brazil, takes an unexpected turn after the arrival of an independent private security firm. The presence of these men brings a sense of safety and a good deal of anxiety to a culture which runs on fear. Meanwhile, Bia, married and mother of two, must find a way to deal with the constant barking and howling of her neighbour’s dog. A slice of ‘Braziliana’, a reflection on history, violence and noise.
Blue Eyes
6.9/10
Before his compulsory retirement, on his last day of work, Marshall, JFK airport's chief Immigration officer, detains a group of Latin Americans and expose them to a series of humiliating situations. Blinded by prejudice, Marshall ends up by causing the death of a young Brazilian. After a period in prison, Marshall goes to Brazil, deadly ill and in a desperate search in order to purge his guilt. In his quest, he is guided by Bia, a young prostitute.
Friendly Beast
6.3/10
A restaurant owner going over the edge when an armed robbery is attempted at his establishment. He holds everyone captive at gunpoint – criminals and customers alike – and situations corrode into a nightmare state, guided by manipulation and raw compulsion.
The Assailant
5.9/10
Based on the life of a legendary capoeira fighter from Bahia, "Besouro" spins a fantastic tale of a young Brazilian man of African descent in search of his mission.
The Two Deaths of Quincas Wateryell
6.3/10
Friends of the recently deceased Quincas take their pal's body on one last tour of his favorite spots in Brazil's Bahia.
Rat Fever
7.1/10
Zizo, a radical and anarchist poet living in a marginal quarter of Recife in the north eastern state of Pernambuco, distributes his social angst-filled thoughts through a publication named Febre do Rato, and spews poetry to anyone who’d listen. Our character always revolves within the universe that he has created around himself. A very particular world, in which satisfying the unfortunate is a mixture of a kind of benefit with high dose of malice.
Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures
7.3/10
1942, in the middle of Northeastern Brazil, two very different men meet along the road: Johan, an aspirin salesman avoiding the German draft, and Ranulpho, a rural Brazilian seeking escape from the drought.
Bog of Beasts
6.2/10
A man falls in love with a teenage girl, who is exploited by her own grandfather, who sometimes takes her to a gas station to show her naked to whomever pays him some money.
Whirlpool
6.8/10
Luzimar cycles each day to and from work at the local cotton mill in his hometown of Cataguases, Minas Gerais, Brazil. He is a hard-working man, trying to make the most of what he has. One day, his childhood friend Gildo reappears, driving a fancy car and boasting of his successful life in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo. As the two sit down for a beer, memories, regrets and old resentments slowly resurface.
I Travel Because I Have to, I Come Back Because I Love You
7.2/10
José Renato, a 35-year-old geologist, is sent out on a solitary expedition to the hinterlands of northeastern Brazil. The purpose of the trip is to assess possible routes for a canal that will connect the area with the only major river in the region. As the field trip progresses, it becomes clear that Renato shares with those places the same emptiness, sense of abandonment and isolation.
The Time and Turn of Augusto Matraga
7.1/10
Based on Guimarães Rosa's (classic Brazilian author) short story, the movie tells the story of Augusto Matraga, a bankrupt and violent farmer who lives above the Law in Minas Gerais' hinterland. During a difficult time, he finds himself in the middle of a trap that nearly kills him. Born again, Matraga resorts to faith and hard work in the pursuit of redemption. Years later, he arrives at the village reigned by the hinterland's ruler and his thugs. This new friendship will challenge his destiny. Inside Matraga, the Saint and the Warrior will duel until his time comes.
The History of Eternity
8/10
In a small village in the hinterland, three stories of love and desire are changing the emotional landscape of its residents. Characters of a romanesque world in which their conceptions of life are limited on one side by human instincts, on the other by a blind and fatalist fate.
Mercy
6.5/10
The quiet life of the small town Piedade's inhabitants is shaken up by the arrival of a big oil company, which barges in taking over houses and local businesses, throwing everyone out, to better reach and use the area's natural resources.
Absence
6.2/10
Serginho has a hard time finding his place in the world as he works with his uncle at the market, supports his depressed mother, and takes care of his little brother.
The Telescope of Time
6.5/10
Musical drama that uses popular myths of Brazilian culture to narrate a story full of meetings and misunderstandings, betrayals and loves, crimes and punishments. Against the backdrop of the Pernambuco backlands – its people and its culture, the cordel, the bandits, the cinema and the circus – the film is a universal drama, laden with unique poetry, where reality and the dreamworld mingle.
Remains of a Man
6.7/10
Renata lives isolated in the countryside with her teenage daughter and her husband, conceiving fear as a common feeling. The arrival of a stranger awakens in her the desire for all that was asleep.
Coffee Stains
6.8/10
A photographer travels to São Paulo for his first solo exhibition and decides to stay in his now married, ex-girlfriend’s house.
