24 Spectacular Brazilian Films

When the estranged daughter of a hard-working live-in housekeeper suddenly appears, the unspoken class barriers that exist within the home are thrown into disarray.

The lives of the residents of a Brazilian apartment building and the security guards who get the job guarding the surrounding streets.

The true story of João Guilherme Estrella ("Johnny"), a young middle-class bon vivant who became a big-time cocaine dealer in Rio de Janeiro in the early 1990s.

Exploring issues of class privilege among Rio's decadent elite, Casa Grande depicts a teenage boy's struggle to escape his overprotective parents as they covertly spiral into bankruptcy.

A boy is left alone in a Jewish neighborhood in 1970, when the World Cup coincides with political crackdowns by the military dictatorship.

When ordered by his father to avenge the death of his older brother, a young man questions the tradition of violence between two rival families.

In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.

A pawn shop proprietor buys used goods from desperate locals--as much to play perverse power games as for his own livelihood, but when the perfect rump and a backed-up toilet enter his life, he loses all control.

In 1997 Rio de Janeiro, Captain Nascimento has to find a substitute for his position while trying to take down drug dealers and criminals before the Pope visits.

After a prison riot, former-Captain Nascimento, now a high ranking security officer in Rio de Janeiro, is swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials and paramilitary groups.

Leonardo is a blind teenager searching for independence. His everyday life, the relationship with his best friend Giovana, and the way he sees the world change completely with the arrival of Gabriel.

A Brazilian photocopier operator falls in love with a girl who lives in an opposite house and spends his evenings looking at her through his binoculars.

Maiquel has lost a bet and dyed his hair blond. This little event triggers a head-on collision with destiny in which Maiquel goes from nobody to hero to outlaw--all in 24 hours.

Stories of crime, revenge, love, and friendship at the Carandiru Penitentiary, the largest prison in Latin America.

A chronicle of a real-life bus hijacking in Rio de Janeiro that occurred on June 12, 2000.

A 1980s-set drama about a teenage girl undergoing her sexual awakening when she learns about her father's infidelities.

Three brothers embark on a journey that begins with a kinship with Brazil's indigenous tribes, to their creation of South America's largest national park.

Clara, 65, lives her life to the fullest with her family and friends. A construction company wants her Recife oceanfront condo, as they've already bought all the other in the 3 story building. Clara's staying.

Caio is 40 years old and lives in the country of Rio de Janeiro, where he owns a scrap-metal yard. On the Christmas Eve he goes to the capital to visit his family and friends. Finally he will be able to meet a man he has not seen for a long time: himself.

The lively João Grilo and the sly Chicó are poor guys living in the hinterland who cheat a bunch of people to survive, but their plans are halted when a bandit comes to town.

Elvira's blender tells her story with her husband, Onofre, who's gone missing, and makes reflections about life.

After the death of her grandmother, Teresa comes home to her matriarchal village in a near-future Brazil to find a succession of sinister events that mobilizes all of its residents.

Three control freaks lose the people they love.

Mano has to deal with adolescence dilemmas and his family destruction, after his father leaves their house.