Brazil: A Report on Torture
Directed byHaskell Wexler, Saul Landau
Edited byRobert Estrin

Brazil: A Report on Torture is a 1971 documentary film directed by Haskell Wexler and Saul Landau.[1] The film had its premiere on October 21, 1971 at the Whitney Museum in New York City.[2]

The documentary tells the story of Brazilians who were tortured while imprisoned in Brazil and were then living in exile in Chile. It is the first film to document such torture in Latin America.[3]

Synopsis

The film features interviews conducted with 17 of the 70 Brazilians brought to Chile in January of that year as part of an exchange for the Swiss ambassador Giovanni Bucher, who was kidnapped the month before in Rio de Janeiro by the armed guerilla group VPR (Popular Revolutionary Vanguard). In addition to testimonies, reenactments are conducted by the former prisoners which demonstrate the cruelty suffered—including the use of the pau de arara method.[4]

Release

The film premiered at the Whitney Museum in New York City on October 21, 1971, where it was accompanied by an interview with Salvador Allende, the 29th President of Chile. Later that same year it was broadcast on WNET, followed by a discussion that included the scholar Alfred Stepan.[5]

In August 2012 Brazil: A Report on Torture was broadcast on Brazilian television, marking its television broadcast debut in Brazil.[6] It also received a screening at the Instituto Moreira Salles in Rio de Janeiro in November 2012, followed by a discussion including subjects interviewed in the film.[7][8] This marked the first time that some of the film's participants had seen the film in its entirety.[7]

The Brazilian diplomat Jom Tob Azulay held a private screening of the film for Brazilian performers Antônio Carlos Jobim and Elis Regina in the 1970s, which led to him being persecuted by Brazil's military government as a result.[9][10] He later commented on the film's obscurity in Brazil, stating that it was "unbelievable" and was likely due to the "repressed society" and the effect that the "veil of forgetfulness plays on torture".[10]

Reception

In a 2012 review in Piauí magazine, film director and editor Eduardo Escorel was extremely critical of the movie, criticizing Wexler and Landau for staging re-enactments of torture with the former torture victims, which he felt showed a "total lack of restraint, decorum and modesty". Escorel went on to say that this, along with other criticisms, "might explain why it was so many years in obscurity."[11]

In contrast, film historians James and Sara T. Combs felt that the movie was an "excellent example of the "appeal to conscience"" and the movie has received praise from diplomat Jom Tob Azulay.[4][10] The film was also honored in a 2014 film festival at the Brazilian Consulate in New York and was featured in the 2015 documentary Rebel Citizen, directed by Pamela Yates.[12][13]

References

  1. ↑ Sattamini, Lina (2010-05-19). A Mother's Cry: A Memoir of Politics, Prison, and Torture under the Brazilian Military Dictatorship. Duke University Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0822392842.
  2. ↑ Hentoff, Nat (December 16, 1971). "TV". Village Voice. p. 50. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  3. ↑ Green, James (2010). We cannot remain silent. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. pp. 260–3. ISBN 9780822347354. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 Combs, James; Combs, Sara (2014). Film propaganda and American politics. New York: Routledge. p. 140. ISBN 978-0815313229. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "The NEW American FILMMAKERS series", Village Voice, p. 72, September 23, 1971, retrieved January 10, 2016.
  6. ↑ Ferraz, Lucas (5 August 2012). "Filme Relata Tortura no Brasil" (in Portuguese). Gazeta de Alagoas. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Ex-militantes 'descobrem' repercussão de filme sobre tortura 41 anos depois" (in Portuguese). Folha de S.Paulo. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Debate sobre Brasil: um relato de tortura" (in Portuguese). Universo Online. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  9. ↑ Costa, Gilberto (18 August 2010). "Comissão anistia diplomata que exibiu em Los Angeles documentário sobre tortura na ditadura" (in Portuguese). Empresa Brasil de Comunicação. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 Éboli, Evandro (7 February 2011). "Diplomata Jom Tob Azulay é reintegrado ao Itamaraty" (in Portuguese). O Globo. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  11. ↑ Escorel, Eduardo (9 August 2012). "Brasil – Um Relato de Tortura (II)". Revista Piauí. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  12. ↑ Scheck, Frank (12 October 2015). "'Rebel Citizen': NYFF Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  13. ↑ "Mostra sobre ditadura brasileira é apresentada nos EUA" (in Portuguese). Brazil Ministry of Justice. Portal Brasil. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
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