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:

Female Nudity | Native American | Native American Chief | 1500s | Bow And Arrow

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
José 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.

The Beginning of the Exploitation of Brazil in a Very Realistic Movie

In 1594 in Brazil, the Tupinambas Indians are friends of the Frenches and their enemies are the Tupiniquins, friends of the Portugueses. A Frenchman (Arduíno Colassanti) is captured by the Tupinambás, and in spite of his trial to convince them that he is French, they believe he is Portuguese. The Frenchman becomes their slave, and maritally lives with Seboipepe (Ana Maria Magalhães). Later, he uses powder in the cannons that the Portuguese left behind to defeat the Tupiniquins in a battle. In order to celebrate the victory, the Indians decide to eat him.

"Como Era Gostoso o Meu Francês" is another great low budget movie of the great Brazilian director Nélson Pereira dos Santos. The screenplay is very original and the story is spoken in Tupi. The film is shot using natural light most of the time and is very realistic. The actors and actresses perform naked and Ana Maria Magalhães is magnificent, showing a wonderful body and giving a stunning performance. The sound is produced by the Brazilian musician Zé Rodrix. This movie shows the beginning of the exploitation of my country by Europeans, focusing in the Portuguese and French at that time, trading with the Indians and exchanging combs and mirrors by our natural resources. This movie was awarded in the national festivals, such as the 1971 Brazilian Cinema Festival of Brasília (Festival de Brazília do Cinema Brasileiro) with Best Screenplay (Nelson Pereira dos Santos), Best Dialog (Nelson Pereira dos Santos and Humberto Mauro) and Best Cenograph (Régis Monteiro); Art Critics Association of São Paulo (Associação Paulista dos Críticos de Arte), with best Revelation of the Year (Ana Maria Magalhães) and some other prizes. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Como Era Gostoso o Meu Francês" ("How Tasty Was My Frenchman")