Tristeza do Jeca (1960)

Some poor rural workers are manipulated by both sides in an election. The candidates focus especially on one of the workers, named Jeca, as he is considered to have some influence over the community. The son of one of the "colonels" feigns to court Jeca's daughter in order to obtain his support. The other side threatens to fire his workers if he does not win; later, he resorts to kidnapping.

This comedy tries to depict the Brazilian phenomenon of "coronelismo", in which a rich landowner, or "colonel", dominates politically a certain rural community. Voters are coaxed by various methods to vote on him. The most trivial of these methods is the buying of the vote through material benefits offered to the voter. In the film, more sophisticated ruses are employed as well. Although it suffers from a somewhat simple-minded plot, there are good things in this film. The picture of the workings of the Brazilian electoral system when the film was made is fairly accurate, and occasionally funny. Things have changed a bit in Brazil from that time to present days, but problems persist, in slightly modified shapes. 

Rating: 42