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Of all the things I’m learning teaching the New Waves class, Cinema Novo 
might be the biggest revelation. The fact that this movement which once loomed so large and is now largely forgotten is a testament to the enduring power of neocolonial bias.
might be the biggest revelation. The fact that this movement which once loomed so large and is now largely forgotten is a testament to the enduring power of neocolonial bias.
About 40 years ago Werner Herzog was asked to name the filmmakers he most admired. All 3 of the filmmakers he named were Brazilian. New German Cinema was hugely influenced by Cinema Novo.
The filmmakers he named: Glauber Rocha, Rui Guerra, and Joaquin Pedro de Andrade. Rocha erasure from the pantheon is pretty dismaying. I have an MFA from one of the top 5 film schools in the nation and I never heard the guy’s name mentioned once.
Cinema Novo also has a strong case as the definitive New Wave movement because it has three distinct phases: 1960 - 1964 the films were Neo-Realist, and focused on the peasants and the country. 1964 - 1968 the films became more reflexive, Brechtian, and urban.
And then from 1969 to 1973 the films shifted towards genre fare in an effort to be more commercial and actually be seen by the Brazilian people, not just cinephiles. I can’t think of another movement that covers so much ground.
