April 96

Plays, movies & best-seller books

PLAYS

Dias Felizes -- Love comedy about a couple who stay together through thick and thin. Bárbara Heliodora's translation from the Thomas Beckett's play. In São Paulo.

Intensa Magia -- Maria Adelaide Amaral's play about a family's public washing of dirty laundry during an engagement party. Rosa Maria Murtinho stars. Paulo Cezar Saraceni directs. In Rio.

Mary Stuart -- The struggle for power between queens Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I. From Friedrich Schiller. Directed by Gabriel Villela. In São Paulo.

Noite Feliz -- A Christmas family gathering becomes a group therapy when people start to share less than charitable impressions about each other. Flávio Marinho wrote and directs. Dramedy. In Rio.

Oeste -- Drama. A family feud between two brothers who see the world very differently. Sam Shepard's play directed by Marco Ricca with Renata Sorrah and Xuxa Lopes. In São Paulo.

Querida Mamãe -- The hate-love relationship between daughter and mother. Eva Vilma stars and José Wilker directs this Maria Adelaide Amaral's story. In São Paulo.

Como Encher um Biquíni Selvagem -- Written and directed by multitalented Miguel Falabella with Cláudia Jimenez. A story of loneliness in the big city. In Rio.

Todo Mundo Sabe que Todo Mundo Sabe -- Another play from prolific and multitalented Miguel Falabella who also directs it. A socialite struggles to avoid economic disaster. In Rio.

MOVIES

Jamon Jamon (Jamon Jamon) -- Spain -- 1992 -- The love story between a rich guy and the lovely girl who is the daughter of a notorious prostitute. Directed by Bigas Luna.

Jenipapo -- Brazil -- 1995 -- Monique Gardenberg directs. The fascination of an American reporter living in Rio de Janeiro with an activist priest who fight for agrarian reform.

La Flor de Mi Secreto (A Flor de Meu Segredo) -- Spain -- 1995 -- Pedro Almodóvar directs this comedy about a writer unable to write three novels she has promised her publisher due to a matrimonial crisis.

Mario, Maria e Mario (Mário, Maria e Mário) -- Italy -- 1993 -- The fall of Russia wrecks havoc at the life of a socialist couple, husband and wife are communist militants. Ettore Scola directed.

Il Postino (O Carteiro e o Poeta) -- Italy -- 1995 -- Poet Pablo Neruda's friendship with the mailman during the writer's exile in an Italian island. Directed by Michael Radford.

O Qu4trilho -- Brazil -- 1995 -- Fábio Barreto directs Patrícia Pillar, Glória Pires, Bruno Campos, and Alexander Paternorst in this dramatic story of two couples against the morals of the time. The action takes place among Italian immigrants in the south of Brazil. Nominated for the Oscar.

Les Silences du Palais (Os Silêncios do Palácio) -- France -- 1994 -- By Moufida Tlatly. After the death of her father, a famous young singer returns to the palace where she was born.

Terra Estrangeira (Foreign Land) -- Brazil -- 1995 -- Brazilian flees to Portugal amid economic turmoil in Brazil during the Collor de Mello presidency. Directed by Walter Salles Júnior.

Two Billion Hearts (Todos os Corações do Mundo) -- Brazil -- 1994 -- Murilo Salles's documentary on the 1994 World Soccer Cup. It's FIFA's official film.

The White Baloon (O Balão Branco) -- Iran -- 1995 -- The dreams of a little girl whose only ambition is to get a red fish as gift. Jafar Pahani is the director.

BOOKS

Fiction

Nonfiction