Milton Goncalves Movies

Directed by Joel Zito Araujo, Daughters of the Wind, during its production, featured the largest cast of black actors ever seen in a Brazilian film. The story follows the complex relationship between a set of sisters, mothers, and daughters; a family funeral serves as a starting point for a series of flashbacks from the 1960s and '70s. Though general sexism and gender stereotyping are among the causes for the tension between them, the social and political remnants of slavery present an even more insidious conflict to be dealt with. The film includes Milton Goncalves, Ruth de Souza, Lea Garcia, and Maria Ceica. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

A writer turned insurance investigator follows an ominous trail in this thriller from Brazilian director Flavoria R. Tambellini. Ivan Canabrava's (Jose Mayer) specialty as an insurance investigator is cases in which the perpetrators have used Bufo Marinus to commit fraud. A poison secreted by frogs that induces catalepsy in humans, the chemical's uncanny ability to bring about death-like symptoms allows the user to collect large life insurance policies and commit numerous other crimes. Subsequently giving up his career and focusing on writing, a decade later Canabrava discovers what appears to be a resurgence of the once popular drug and subsequently embarks on an investigation that may place his life in grave danger. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Legendary Brazilian director Carlos Diegues recasts the tragic myth of Orpheus in the shantytowns of Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. Orfeu de Conceicao is the most famous samba player in Brazil, and one of the most respected members of the neighborhood of Carioca Hill, a labyrinth of dirty streets and quickly made shacks ruthlessly controlled by drug lord Lucinho. Young Orfeu, though, lives a gilded life. He has his pick of a bevy of local beauties, children worship him, and the corrupt police will not harass him like the others in the area. During the run-up to Carnival, his world is turned upside down with the appearance of the gorgeous Euridice, who has just moved from the remote untamed hinterland of the Amazon. In spite of her indifference to samba music and her initial reluctance, the two soon fall passionately in love. Unfortunately, the violence of their surroundings threatens to overwhelm them. When Lucinho takes a liking to Euridice and challenges his former childhood friend, Orfeu is forced to endure a brutal test for his love. Orfeu was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Star Sasha Mitchell returns for the second Kickboxer sequel, playing a kick-boxing champion who rescues a kidnapped girl from the Rio de Janeiro mob. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

A beautiful woman discovers a new side of her personality in this erotic drama. Kansas-born Emily Reed (Carré Otis) is an intelligent but naive young woman who has made a name for herself as a lawyer and is hired to work with businesswoman Claudia Lirones (Jacqueline Bisset), who is putting the finishing touches on a major real estate deal. Claudia brings Emily with her as she jets off to Rio De Janeiro to wrap up the sale of a resort hotel to the Chinese. When Claudia is unexpectedly called away, Emily is left in the care of James Wheeler (Mickey Rourke), an expatriate American multi-millionaire with a truly remarkable tan who is in on Claudia's deal. The Carnivale is in full swing in Rio, and James seeks to broaden Emily's horizons by introducing her to the sensual pleasures lurking all around her; James and Emily soon become involved, which complicates matters when Claudia returns. One of Wild Orchid's love scenes between Mickey Rourke and Carré Otis had to be trimmed so that the film could gain an R rating for American release (the uncut version was later released on home video); a widely circulated rumor had it that Rourke and Otis, who were living together at the time, had actually had sex while the scene was filmed, though Otis later denied it. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Jack Noah (Richard Dreyfuss) is all actor: Self-possessed, obsessive, vulnerable, and an addict for praise, his soul burns with "the craft." Having just finished a grade-Z straight-to-cable crime thriller in the fictional South American country of Parador, he gets the ultimate acting challenge (though it's more like an offer he can't refuse) from Roberto Strausman (Raul Julia), the Paradorian dictator's chief advisor. The challenge: impersonate the country's dictator, whose just died. Strausman knows just how to manipulate Noah: He takes him to a meat locker, shows him the director's body (actually Dreyfuss' brother, Lorin), threatens to kill him, and he brings clips of Noah's best reviews. Thus enticed, and bearing a striking resemblance to the man, Noah accepts the job. Under the exacting direction of Strausman, he follows the script precisely. Noah immediately enjoys the job's perks, not least of which is the dictator's scorching mistress, Madonna (Sonia Braga), but of course cannot conceal his real identity to her. A close call with Parador's revolutionaries and Madonna's brimming social conscience push Noah to take command of the role. He starts pushing a kinder, gentler social agenda, and incurs Strausman's wrath. It begins to look like Noah will play the dictator's last act, but a chance meeting with a stunt man friend (Michael Greene) inspires a caper that will change all of the characters' fates. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide

A large factory in Brazil is having problems with its workers and their union, just as the workers are having their problems with the factory bosses. In order to make their grievances heard, the workers decide to go out on strike against the plant. This action divides a family -- the son opts for working within the system and not joining the strikers, the father was the union organizer who got the strike together in the first place. His ideals are so strong that he had been jailed for them earlier. The strike is broken in the end, and the young man is vilified by his wife -- who leaves him, and by his father -- who disowns him, and by the other workers. As the father goes off to participate in a funeral of one of the strikers killed by the police, the son is left to ponder the consequences of his actions, and to reconsider whether he was completely justified in his stance. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Macunaíma is a black native from the forests of Brazil in this satirical comedy. When he bathes in a magic stream, he is turned into a white man. He goes into town and becomes the lover of a female revolutionary. She is killed by her own time bomb and her good-luck charm is found by an Italian. The man becomes a millionaire. Macunaíma goes to visit the lucky man and almost ends up on the menu. He returns to the jungle where he is abandoned by his followers and family for lying about food. The once-fortunate man sits alone as he tells his story to the only creature who will listen, a parrot. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide