Film based on the real story of a young man in the Lapa neighborhood of Rio de Janiero in the 1930s. Very interesting questions around his sexual identity, which doesn't fit any of our contemporary standard models but which is probably not all that unusual in Brazilian culture of the period.
Available from the SF Public Library. Library summary:
Based on the life of João Francisco dos Santos, a gay performer, his triumphs and tragedies amid the violence and poverty of 1930's Brazil.Available in DVD and streaming format from Netflix. Netflix summary:
Rio de Janeiro's Lapa neighborhood is full of outrageous personalities, but few hold a candle to the fascinating Madame Sata (Lazaro Ramos), a transvestite singer who worked the streets in order to survive day to day. Director Karim Ainouz based his film on the extraordinary life of this eccentric character (born Francisco dos Santos), who was also a murderer and spent decades in jail.Is he gay? Is he a transvestite? Bisexual? Other? Parsing his identity would be a good student exercise. Racial issues suggested in the film are also interesting. Three brief scenes that would need to be skipped in the classroom (M2M lovemaking with nudity; bare female breasts; the naked protagonist being hosed down when he's is admitted to jail).
