Brazil is an intriguing and diverse country and its movies are equally so. From musicals and politically charged movies to LGBTQ+-themed films, the options are exciting. The country is also known for the movies City Of God, Elite Squad, and Black Orpheus.
There are a variety of Brazilian movies and TV series on Netflix worth checking out. These few serve as a great survey of Brazilian film, as well as a direct view into some of the varied cultures of the country.
Paradise Lost (2018) - 7.0
Paradise Lost is the name of a nightclub at the center of this drama filled with music. Though the story is somewhat soap opera-like, the main gist is that a cop gets hired to be a bodyguard for a drag queen and ends up getting close to the marvelous misfits of the club.
The ensemble cast includes the singer/actor Seu Jorge, whose music is used heavily in Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, and Erasmo Carlos, whose music is included in dozens of Brazilian movies, as well as Ocean's Twelve.
Laerte-se (2017) - 7.0
In this Netflix original documentary, famous Brazilian cartoonist, Laerte Coutinho, reflects on being transgender at age 58 and life, in general. Laerte became famous as an underground cartoonist in the 1980s and continues to comment on life as she sees it.
This slice of life film takes a frank and intimate perspective on numerous aspects of Laerte's life and art. Not only is this documentary a sincere look into the life of a trans celebrity, but it's also a fascinating look at the process of an artist.
M-8 (2019) - 7.0
The subtitle for this film is "When Death Rescues Life," which is an intriguing description for this drama about Maurício, a student at The Federal University of Medicine in Minas Gerais. In his very first anatomy class, Maurício is introduced to M-8, the cadaver that he and his colleagues will be studying for the course.
Maurício is the only Black student in the prestigious university and he must navigate racial issues as he progresses. He also feels a connection to M-8 because he's Black, as well. In the Brazilian version of the Oscars, this film won both best director and best screenplay and is well worth a watch.
Ex-Shaman (2018) - 7.1
This fascinating picture by anthropologist-turned filmmaker Luiz Bolognesi is a documentary/fiction hybrid. It follows Perpera, an ex-shaman, from the Paiter Suruí tribe of Indigenous people who live in the Amazon basin. Since their first encounter with the outside world, the Paiter Suruí have been challenged by outside religion, culture, and technology.
Perpera works to care for his people, who accept Christianity and aspirin, while maintaining traditions and culture. Bolognesi masterfully blurs the line between reality and fiction just as the lines between lives connect and disconnect from the forest.
7 Prisoners (2021) - 7.1
A young man named Mateus leaves his family in the country to make money for them in São Paulo. He finds a job working hard labor in a junkyard for a man named Luca, played by Rodrigo Santoro (Westworld, 300). Unwittingly, Mateus gets forced into Luca's human trafficking ring.
This documentary-style crime drama is a modern masterpiece that faces the realities of slave labor in the world today. The non-stop gripping drama won critical and popular acclaim, including Best Foreign Language Film at the Venice Film Festival.
The Edge Of Democracy (2019) - 7.2
This intensely personal documentary looks at the presidencies of Lula da Silva, Rousseff, and Bolsonaro through acclaimed director Petra Costa's point of view. Costa reflects on the rise and fall of her country's leaders as Brazil becomes more and more divided.
The film is a warning about how fragile governments can be, not just in one country, but around the world. This important documentation of Brazil was nominated for an Oscar and won a Peabody Award.
The Last Forest (2012) - 7.4
Just like his later work, director Luiz Bolognesi blends documentary style with dramatized scenes to depict the struggles of one Indigenous community living in the Amazon rainforest. The Yanomami lived isolated for 500 years before non-natives intruded.
This film honors gorgeous colors and sounds that surround the everyday life of the Yanomami while telling stories of their culture and community, as well as how it has changed with contact with the western world. The Last Forest won numerous awards, including Best Film at the Berlin International Film Festival.
The Beginning Of Life (2016) - 7.6
This documentary looks into current neuroscience and how it helps to understand early childhood development. The Beginning Of Life looks into what makes each human an individual, as well as what connects all of humankind. Parents and scientists from around the world discuss how and what children grow and learn from infancy.
Though Brazilian, this is a very universal story including interviews from a myriad of communities and cultures. The film features marvelous cinematography and endlessly fascinating documentation of the wonder that is childhood.
Elena (2012) - 7.6
In director Petra Costa's earlier work, her older sister moved from São Paulo to New York City to attempt to follow her (and her mother's) dream of becoming a film actor. Petra, who is 20 years younger than Elena, goes to New York as well, with only a few clues to her sister's life.
Through home movies and written documentation, Costa weaves the threads that connect two long-separated sisters. This beautiful, nostalgic, and deeply poetic film is quite unusual for a Netflix acquisition and very much worth a view.
Emicida: AmarElo - It's All For Yesterday (2020) - 8.5
Emicida is currently one of Brazil's top hip-hop artists and MCs, but he's also an activist who works to educate his country (and the world) about the racism and legacy of slavery in Brazil. Emicada is very vocal about the racial issues in his country that are very similar to the U.S.
This music documentary intersperses the education and celebration of Brazilian Black culture between pieces of Emicida's live performance at the Teatro Municipal in São Paulo. It's no surprise that this doc is Netflix's highest-rated Brazilian production with its masterful blend of a history lesson with engaging hip-hop, samba, and rap.