O Ébrio (1946)

 English title: The Drunkard

(spoilers) A ruined farmer's son is helped by a priest who gives him lodging. He enrolls at a singing contest and wins first prize. With the money, he manages to finish medical school. He operates on a little girl who couldn't walk, and she then can walk again. He marries a nurse, but she is deceived by one of his relatives who convinces her to run away with him. The protagonist then becomes a wanderer and a drunkard. A final encounter with her provides a sort of closure to their story.

Inspired by a song by the leading actor, this is, with the exception of one sequence, one of the worst films ever made, so ridiculous it defies belief, and poorly acted by nearly everyone in its cast. The one sequence which arguably stands above the overall inanity is -- predictably -- the one featuring the title song -- it's practically impossible not to be moved by it, even though what comes before and after it is an appalling collection of absurdities. All that being said, anyone with an interest in popular culture will probably have a curiosity to watch it, especially since it has been very competently restored in the late 1990s.

Rating: 25

Adultério à Brasileira (1969)

 Worldwide English Title: Adultery Brazilian Style

Film in three segments. (1) O Telhado ("The Roof") is about a factory worker who suspects his wife is cheating on him; (2) A Assinatura ("The Signature") shows a day in the life of a couple in an open marriage; (3) A Receita ("The Recipe") has a a womanizer husband and his frustrated wife who has a younger admirer.

To be honest, this film was surprisingly good at parts, and overall quite entertaining. The first episode featuring a working class couple is very good, a small masterpiece or nearly. The factory environment was very well captured in images, and the home life of the protagonist was equally well portrayed. And the leading performance was excellent. The other two episodes, while somewhat inferior, are not without merit. Number two is a curious take on upper class people which, while perhaps not totally convincing, reflected the spirit of the times and was well filmed. The last segment depicts a middle class couple and is possibly the one with the most appeal to audience tastes, showing more nudity and some vulgarity. It offers a glimpse into the later style of this director and into a whole new genre of which he would be one of the founders -- the pornochanchada; that being said, this is superior to those later films.

Rating: 51

The Plainsman (1966)

Remake of the homonymous 1936 film, which was based on "Wild Bill Hickok, the Prince of Pistoleers" by Frank J. Wilstach, first published in 1926.

War is brewing among the Cheyenne. Two guys and a tomboyish woman try to avoid the worst, but a bigoted officer does not believe in peace.

Bland Western using real-life characters in a fictional story. It's made with the usual American competence, but the only thing which caught my attention was Dillman's performance.

Rating: 35