short takes (1)

The late Glauber Rocha was a towering figure on the international film scene. He is perhaps the most celebrated member of the "Cinema Novo" group in his native Brazil, with strong leaning toward socially and politically committed work.His reputation with American moviegoers has rested largely on such lyrical yet single-minded films as "Black God, White Devil" and its sequel "Antonio das Mortes," an unsurpassed blend of polemics, poetics, and sheer cinematics. In his later years, he reportedly lost faith in the ability of film to effect the social changes he sought. Yet his most widely seen pictures, especially the explosive "Antonion das Mortes," stand as a monument to both his talent and his conscience.