Louise Cardoso Movies

A Sao Paolo forensic pathologist who fights boredom by dreaming up causes of death for those who have yet to pass away is called on to examine a most atypical corpse in this mystery from co-directors/co-screenwriters Rossana Foglia and Rubens Rewald. Artur is good at his job, but quick to lapse into daydreams. Asked to examine the inexplicably preserved corpse of a woman buried in a mass grave of protestors that had vanished during the military dictatorship of the 1970s, Artur is intrigued that the body is in much the same shape as it must have been thirty years ago. At first Artur suspects that the corpse is the mother of a young woman named Fernanda, but then he discovers that Fernanda's mother is still very much alive. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Three generations of women gather for one last time in the family mansion slated for the wrecking ball in this distaff drama. The trio reminisces about the last 40 years in a revealing display of emotions, sharing their hopes and dreams with each other. Filming took place in a beautiful mansion in downtown Rio. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Every country no doubt has its golden youths who die before they have had a chance to come to full flower and who leave a romantic legend behind them. In the U.S., one of these was James Dean. In Brazil, the fans of the actress Leila Diniz were similarly bereft when she died in the late 1960s. This biographical drama, directed and written by one of her close friends, and produced by a relative, tells the story of a very modern woman who broke new social ground in the conservative society of Brazil. Many of the people involved with the unconventional actress in real life play themselves in this film. The mood of the times are evoked: it was an era when a repressive military dictatorship governed the country, but the ideas and styles of beat poetry and aspirations for social change were fermenting among the young. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This boisterous Brazilian comedy is set in Dona Esperanzas lively bar and revolves around the tempestuous love between a bitchy soap opera diva and her husband, a writer for her show and an author of pulp romances. The trouble begins because the actress has become too involved with her role and this is not helped by the show's fans who constantly assault her. The other patrons of the bar lead equally soapy lives. When they all hear that the bar is about to be replaced by a shopping mall, they are devastated. Things really get nutty when a troupe of circus performers suddenly shows up. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Focusing on the culture and beliefs of the people in the state of Minas Geraes in Brazil, this highly innovative drama by director Carlos Alberto Prates-Correia continuously blurs the line between fantasy and reality. At center stage is a man and his life, viewed from the perspective of his dreams, visions of the past, interpretations of the present, and a "real" world somewhere in-between. Cultural and social vignettes from life in Minas Geraes are interspersed throughout the film; the avant-garde approach of Prates-Correia contorts some of these vignettes into enigmas. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide