Bye Bye Brasil, o filme - Bye Bye Brazil, the movie

Here’s a masterpiece you can’t miss: “Bye Bye Brasil”, a movie by Carlos Diegues released in 1980. It shows the travels of a circus called “Caravana Rolidei” (“Holiday Caravan”, with the English word “holiday” misspelled and mispronounced), passing by all kinds of cities in the north and northeast of Brazil.

At that time we were still under a military dictatorship, which started in 1964 and lasted 20 years. It’s an interesting – and sad – chapter of our history worth looking into. During that time the regime promoted what became known as “obras faraônicas” (“pharaonic constructions”), huge public works such as the bridge Rio-Niterói, Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant (built in the famous Foz do Iguaçu waterfalls), Angra dos Reis Nuclear Power Plant, and the Transamazon Highway.  The troupe travelers in the movie want to explore the Transamazon Highway, in search of a larger paying audience - which was dwindling because of the growing popularity of TV.

NOT SO FUN FACT: This unpaved highway, in real life, turned out to be a disastrous endeavor. It destroyed many Native communities and species where it passed, and is nowadays basically inactive due to the humid climate of its location, which makes maintenance almost impossible.

See the moment Lorde Cigano (José Wilker), the troupe leader, hears about the Transamazon Highway for the first time in the video below:

Bye Bye Brasil is an on-point metaphor to our history, culture and what was going on at the country at that time. There you’ll see the poverty in the backlands of Brazil, the migration from those cities to larger towns (where people will just change their type of misery, but will mostly keep being miserable), our racial mix (with the Afro-Brazilian character, unfortunately, doing the “muscle” work, but having no voice, and with Native Brazilians being impoverished by globalization), illiteracy and poor education, our precarious work conditions (which makes many people resort to illegality to survive), our idolization of products and customs coming from developed countries, and the arrival of technology (represented by the TV, abhorred by the troupe since it was taking away their audience).  

But it’s not all doom and gloom: you will also see the respect for traditional rituals under adverse conditions, the solidarity amongst those in need, the resourcefulness and liveliness of our people, our gorgeous landscapes, tons of color, and, what touches me the most, the vital importance of the artist - fortunately Brazil has no shortage of those. Oh, and last but not least, the strength of the Brazilian woman, who, in lower classes, often carries the weight of supporting the whole family by working informal jobs.

See below a few scenes from the movie:

Watch below a video of the director himself, Carlos Diegues, talking about the movie and try to answer these questions:

1. O que inspirou o filme? / What inspired the movie?

2. Quando ele decidiu fazer o filme? / When did he decide to make the movie?

3. Como ele descreve o momento exato que o filme mostra? / How does he describe the very moment the movie depicts?

4. Por que ele diz que o filme não é nostálgico? / Why does he say the movie is not supposed to be nostalgic?

5. Qual foi a attitude emocional do diretor em relação ao filme? / What was the director’s emotional attitude towards the movie?

6. Qual é o tema principal do filme? / What is the movie ultimately about?

Also let’s not forget about the wonderful theme song, written and sung by one of our greatest artists, Chico Buarque (we’ll talk more about him in a future post):

Read the "Bye Bye, Brasil" lyrics below:

Oi, coração
Não dá pra falar muito não
Espera passar o avião
Assim que o inverno passar
Eu acho que vou te buscar
Aqui tá fazendo calor
Deu pane no ventilador
Já tem fliperama em Macau
Tomei a costeira em Belém do Pará
Puseram uma usina no mar
Talvez fique ruim pra pescar
Meu amor

No Tocantins
O chefe dos parintintins
Vidrou na minha calça Lee
Eu vi uns patins pra você
Eu vi um Brasil na tevê
Capaz de cair um toró
Estou me sentindo tão só
Oh, tenha dó de mim
Pintou uma chance legal
Um lance lá na capital
Nem tem que ter ginasial
Meu amor

No Tabariz
O som é que nem os Bee Gees
Dancei com uma dona infeliz
Que tem um tufão nos quadris
Tem um japonês trás de mim
Eu vou dar um pulo em Manaus
Aqui tá quarenta e dois graus
O sol nunca mais vai se pôr
Eu tenho saudades da nossa canção
Saudades de roça e sertão
Bom mesmo é ter um caminhão
Meu amor

Baby, bye bye
Abraços na mãe e no pai
Eu acho que vou desligar
As fichas já vão terminar
Eu vou me mandar de trenó
Pra Rua do Sol, Maceió
Peguei uma doença em Ilhéus
Mas já tô quase bom
Em março vou pro Ceará
Com a benção do meu orixá
Eu acho bauxita por lá
Meu amor

Bye bye, Brasil
A última ficha caiu
Eu penso em vocês night and day
Explica que tá tudo okay
Eu só ando dentro da lei
Eu quero voltar, podes crer
Eu vi um Brasil na tevê
Peguei uma doença em Belém
Agora já tá tudo bem
Mas a ligação tá no fim
Tem um japonês trás de mim
Aquela aquarela mudou
Na estrada peguei uma cor
Capaz de cair um toró
Estou me sentindo um jiló
Eu tenho tesão é no mar
Assim que o inverno passar
Bateu uma saudade de ti
Tô a fim de encarar um siri
Com a benção de Nosso Senhor
O sol nunca mais vai se pôr

If you live in Chicago, you can find Bye Bye Brasil (the movie) at Odd Obsession in Bucktown.