Vera Fischer Movies

Ben Kingsley headlines this thoughtful adventure that was filmed on location in Brazil. The story centers on Cunda, a poor hunter who makes his meager living killing snakes. One day, he runs across four chimpanzees. The hunter is elated, for he hopes that selling them in the Big City will net him enough money to pay the dowry of his beloved Maria, a widow who lives in his village. His journey is long and arduous. At one point he ends up forced to work in a remote mining camp; at another he gets captured by military slavers. He and a beautiful Indian girl manage to escape from the latter and with the chimps make it to the city. But things don't go well there. More adventures ensue, and with each one, Cunda ponders humankind's true place in the natural world. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Quilombo de Palmares was a real-life democratic society, created in Brazil in the 17th century. This incredibly elaborate (and surprisingly little-known) film traces the origins of Quilombo, which began as a community of freed slaves. The colony becomes a safe harbor for other outcasts of the world, including Indians and Jews. Ganga Zumba (Toni Tornado) becomes president of Quilombo, the first freely elected leader in the Western Hemisphere. Naturally, the ruling Portuguese want to subjugate Zumba and his followers, but the Quilombians are ready for their would-be oppressors. The end of this Brave New World is not pleasant, but the followers of Zumba and his ideals take to the hills, where they honor his memory to this day. Writer/director Carlos Diegues takes every available opportunity to compare the rise and fall of Quilombo with the state of affairs in modern-day Brazil. Still, the film is refreshingly free of self-righteous oratory, and serves as an excellent introduction to anyone intrigued by the political history of South America. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This Brazilian erotic thriller tells the story of a young boy named Hugo who is sent to stay with his mother in a large, expensive house. It turns out that the house is a brothel and his mother is one of its resident prostitutes. Years later, Hugo, now an old politician, returns to the house to relive what happened there. The main reason to watch this film is the presence of Xuxa Meneghel. She plays a prostitute named Tampa who passes herself off to her customers as a German virgin, does a long striptease, and tries to seduce Hugo -- a far cry from the image she put forth several years later as Xuxa, the host of a wildly popular international children's television show produced in Brazil. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide