Como Era Gostoso o Meu Francês (1971)

Director:

Nelson Pereira dos Santos

Writers:

Humberto Mauro (Tupi dialogue)
Nelson Pereira dos Santos (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

The Beginning of the Exploitation of Brazil

Plot:

In 1594 in Brazil, the Tupinambás Indians are friends of the Frenches and their enemies are the Tupiniquins...

Plot Keywords:

Frenchman | Brazil | Powder | Canoe | Nudity

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Arduíno Colassanti	...	The Frenchman
Ana Maria Magalhães	...	Seboipepe
Eduardo Imbassahy Filho	...	Cunhambebe
Manfredo Colassanti	...	The tradesman
José Kléber	...	Ipiraguaçu
Gabriel Archanjo	...	Mbiratata
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gabriel Araújo
Ana Batista
João Amaro Batista
Hélio Fernando
Luiz Carlos Lacerda
Maria de Souza Lima
Wilson Manlio
Ana Maria Miranda
Célio Moreira	...	(voice)
Ital Natur
Janira Santiago
José Soares

Directed by
Nelson Pereira dos Santos

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Humberto Mauro		Tupi dialogue
Nelson Pereira dos Santos		writer

Produced by
Luiz Carlos Barreto	....	producer
K.M. Eckstein	....	producer
Nelson Pereira dos Santos	....	producer
César Thedim	....	producer

Original Music by
Guilherme Magalhães Vaz
Zé Rodrix

Cinematography by
Dib Lutfi

Film Editing by
Carlos Alberto Camuyrano

Set Decoration by
Régis Monteiro

Costume Design by
Mara Chaves
María Chaves

Makeup Department
Ren Boechat	....	makeup artist
Ana Correia da Silva	....	makeup artist
Hélio Fernando	....	makeup artist
Nilde Maria Goebel	....	makeup artist
Janira Santiago	....	makeup artist
José Soares	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Irênio Marques	....	production manager
Chris Rodrigues	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Luiz Carlos Lacerda	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Antônio César	....	sound effects editor
Geraldo José	....	sound effects editor
Nelson Ribeiro	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Ronaldo Nunes	....	assistant camera

Other crew
Raimundo Bandeira de Melo	....	production assistant
Carlos Alberto Diniz	....	production assistant
Pedro Aurélio Gentil	....	production assistant
Luiz Carlos Ripper	....	ethnographical consultant
Antonio Luis Soares	....	production assistant
Waldir Surtan	....	title designer

Production Companies

• Condor Filmes
• Luiz Carlos Barreto Produções Cinematográficas

Distributors

• New Yorker Films (1973) (USA) (subtitled)

Also Known As:

How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese | Tupi | French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Condor Filmes

Trivia:

Almost all the dialogs is in an Indian language called Tupi.

Cultural differences, third cinema acceptance

Nelson Pereira dos Santos' 'Como Era Gostoso o Meu Francês' (renamed 'How tasty was my little Frenchman' for its US release) is a good example of the cultural centrism and the difficulties in translation of the movement towards a new cinema. In it's realistic, non-judgmental portrayal of 16th century Brazil, Santos is able to speak for people who could never have spoken to us today. Yet the differences in culture on the natives of that land are difficult to understand through the lens in which history is written by its victors.

Santos' involvement in the cinema novo style is immediately apparent, as it manifests in photographic realism. The lighting in each frame looks entirely natural (and than likely it only uses natural light) and camera movement is limited if any happened at all. Sound is clear and loud, but the near absence of post-production sound effects immerses the viewer in voices and nature. The main exception to the natural style of the film is the occasional inclusion of tribal music in the background, which use some reed-type instrument that might not be accurate for the tribal theme.

The main obstacle for the viewer is a culture that they have very little concept of before the film. Unlike Hollywood films that sanitize their portrayal of native Americans with stereotypical clothing, Santos' rightly presents the native peoples' of Brazil as they were – without clothes. At times the film looks more like an issue of national geographic than a fictional story. The indifference to the tribe's practice of cannibalism not only comes from the perspective of the tribe, but even the Portugese in the film act in apathy towards it. If anything, the film comes just short of glorifying cannibalism until it justifies the act through vengeful rights. Indeed the mistaken Frenchman too accepts his place in the history of the oppressed natives, and as our protagonist he leads the audience to accepting it as well. The marriage of the tribe's woman and the Frenchman parallels Brazil's past and future, but in some ways encourages that a co-existence is possible if tolerance can be given. All of these cultural differences form a boundary to the audience that can be broken down if one can accept the history of oppression and integrate them into the themes of acceptance in the film.