Brazilian cinema, past and present times: the question of the race and the place of memories

Abstract

The article deals with symbolic discussion of race relations in contemporary Brazil through the analyses of three Brazilian film productions made in the 2000s: Filhas do Vento (Joel Zito Araújo, 2004), Quase Dois Irmãos (Lúcia Murat, 2004) and Quanto Vale ou é por Quilo (Sérgio Bianchi, 2005). Central to all of the analyses is the place of memory and the dialogue between present and past times expressed in these movies. We propose that the use of different temporalities in their narrative construction was a typical strategy at the time, i.e. referring to continuities and discontinuities, abiding with and making changes to the patterns of racial interactions in Brazil.