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Macunaíma (Jungle Freaks)

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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings

Critics Reviews

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J. Hoberman Village Voice A funny, freewheeling melange of primitive myth and Busby Berkeley. Oct 12, 2004 Full Review Brian Gibson Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta) Its hippie politics are none too subtle. . . . Flesh Gordon elements don't help: Most of the women in Macunama are reduced to softcore conquests. Oct 13, 2005 Full Review Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice Macunaima is a strange 1969 Brazilian parable about the voracious appetites within us that never seem to be satisfied. Rated: 3/5 Oct 19, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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raphael g Pure anarchy and no substance. I just didn't like it. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Baseado na singular obra de Mário de Andrade, o longa-metragem talvez seja um dos melhores exemplos de uma adaptação que, embora ligada às suas raízes literárias, acaba atingindo uma certa autonomia em razão de suas relevantes escolhas e liberdades. Leia mais: http://cinema-mon-amour31.webnode.com/news/macunaima-de-joaquim-pedro-de-andrade-brasil-1969-/ Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member "Macunaíma" se utiliza da caricatura e da fábula para falar sobre o povo brasileiro e momento que o país passava. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review eric b Q: Where do girls have the kinkiest hair? A: In Africa. If Alejandro Jodorowsky and Robert Downey Sr. had lobotomies and made a movie together, it might be something like "Macunaima." This bizarre, surreal comedy has a cult following, but you probably won't enjoy it unless you get stoned first. Very stoned. The story is an amalgam of Brazilian folk tales, and hence is mostly episodic. The title character is born in the jungle as a full-grown (if petite) black man with wildly unkempt hair. Seeing the actor behave like a bratty toddler is hard to take, though unrepentant racists might find some cheap snickers. Macunaima has various misadventures around the village (often sexual) and discovers that smoking the local herb turns him into an elegant prince. Then one day, he is showered with water from a mysterious underground spring and is permanently transformed into a white man. With wildly unkempt hair. Pauly Shore should license this script for a remake. The setting soon moves to the city. Dopey Macunaima (now portrayed by a second actor) finds love with a sexy revolutionary and fathers a child (the actor who was the original Macunaima also plays the son). But he's also driven to retrieve a magic stone from a fearsome, sadistic "giant" who is actually just a normal-sized man strapped with an enormous fake belly. More strange events follow, including a flesh-splattered party around a piranha-loaded swimming pool and an encounter with a native dancer who can function as a human voodoo doll. Macunaima has an inexplicable fixation on ants too. Sure, why not? This parable has a certain crude, low-budget charm, but you're better off sticking with "The Gods Must Be Crazy." Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Joaquim Pedro de Andrade's adaptation of Mario de Andrade's novel Macunaima, it's one of the best works of "Cinema Novo" movement, just like of his devoted director/screenwriter. Macunaima is a surrealist black humor film, that matching culture and policy in a dark moment in Brazil history. A movie, that never gonna forget, and an obligatory piece of art. Fresh. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting take on one of the most memorable Brazilian books. Funny, crude and rather surreal. The book is much better than the movie. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Macunaíma (Jungle Freaks)

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Director
Joaquim Pedro de Andrade