Black God, White Devil
Director: Glauber Rocha
Year Released: 1964
Rating: 3.0
An evil Messiah (Lidio Silva) is wandering around Brazil and gathering an unholy number of followers - including farmer Manuel (Geraldo Del Rey) and his girlfriend - to pillage and plunder, so the Powers That Be hire assassin Antonio das Mortes (Maurício do Valle) to execute the dissidents. Though crudely constructed and edited - like its follow-up five years later - and a bit uneven (there are a lot - and I mean a lot - of scenes in the barren hills, with the actors posing and delivering speeches), it's also (to its credit) frenetic and impassioned, with Rocha making excellent use of his handheld camera, stark black and white images and eerie score (not to mention theatrical sensibilities). As if the parallels to the work of Pasolini aren't apparent enough, Rocha also displays a great disdain for organized religion, religious leaders and authority in general.
