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God is Brazilian
I have just seen the movie God is Brasilian by Carlos Diegues and absolutely loved it. I found the dialogues hilarious and intelligent. This God is certainly a gush of fresh air compared to his American counterpart. God is a good guy, uncomplicated, vain and proud of his work. He just wants to take a vacation because mankind gives him so much to do. The other two main characters, Taoca and Madá (short for Madalena) are just so human that they could stand for the whole of mankind, the same as all the other characters that appear in the movie. The story is a bit like those medieval moralities where the characters start a journey that will reveal the truth. On their way they meet all sorts of characters that will help them on their quest. The best thing, however, are the dialogues. Just hilarious!
The film has won international award and several prizes in 2003 and 2004. God is played by the experienced António Fagundes and is one of the most credible gods I've seen recently. The DVD will be released on Amazon on February 15th.
Here are some quotes:
Taoca: "What is your name?"
God: "I am not going to tell you because you aren't going to believe me. And I don't like lying, I never lie. (...)
I am the unnamable."
Taoca: "Oh, Cut the crap!"
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Taoca: "You don't have the face of God."
God: "If I were the God of giraffes I would come with a face of giraffe."
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God: "You are obsessed with this thing of wanting to be happy!"
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Madá: "What is your name?"
God (annoyed): "Do I have to fill in a form to walk around here?"
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Taoca (coming to a church while searching for a place to stay the night): "This is your house. You go in, tell them who you are, ask them to come in and they'll let you stay all night".
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God: "I never wrote anything with crooked lines. You people are the ones who can't read."
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God (upset because people ask him to many things): "It's all me, me, me! A person gets stressed!"
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God: "I created you (humankind) so gladly but something didn't go right. You do everything wrong. (...) I created the world and right after I created freedom of choice. And now I am to blame for everything?"
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Taoca: "That is a cow."
God: "I know, I invented it."
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God: "Human beings are not like refrigerators that you can return to the store if something is defective. I need a vacation."
God (After Taoca calls him Your Holiness): "Your Holiness is the Pope, you ignorant. I am God."
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Just for the fun of it, here is a list of the Top 10 Brazilian movies of the last 100 years. (The City of God is not here but should not be overlooked):
1. Ganga Bruta (Rough Gangue) by Humberto Mauro (1933)
10. A Ostra e o Vento (The Oyster and the Wind) by Walter Lima Júnior (1997)
2. Vidas Secas (Barren Lives) by Nélson Pereira dos Santos (1963)
3. O Pagador de Promessas (The Promise Keeper) by Anselmo Duarte (1962)
4. Amei um Bicheiro (I Loved a Numbers Game Runner) by Jorge Ileli (1953)
5. Assalto ao Trem Pagador (The Pay-Train Robbery) by Roberto Farias (1962)
6. Central do Brasil (Central Station) by Walter Salles Jr. (1998)
7. Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol (God and the Devil on the Land of the Sun) by Gláuber Rocha (1963)
8. Todas as Mulheres do Mundo (All the Women in the World) by Domingos Oliveira (1966)
9. O Cangaceiro (The Bandit) by Lima Barreto (1953)