Macunaíma (Macunaíma)

Glory to the men who raise up the nation

Our beloved nation, Brazil

Since the times of Pedro Cabral

Who called this land glorious One fateful day in April

ADAPTED AND WRITTEN BY JOAQUIM PEDRO DE ANDRADE

BASED ON THE BOOK BY MÁRIO DE ANDRADE

Glory to those men, heroes of our country

The fortunate land of the Southern Cross

Glory to those men, heroes of our country

The fortunate land of the Southern Cross

Even as the land first appeared

Shimmering green and gold over the sea

This land of Brazil which came to light

Was the native home to noble heroes

Even as the land first appeared

Shimmering green and gold over the sea

This land of Brazil which came to light

Was the native home to noble heroes

Glory to the men who raise up the nation

Our beloved nation, Brazil

Since the times of Pedro Cabral

Who called this land glorious One fateful day in April

With the voice of the raging waterfalls

Of the winds and the oceans Rippling in the blue

Glory to those men, heroes of our country

The fortunate land of the Southern Cross

Glory to those men, heroes of our country

The fortunate land of the Southern Cross

DIRECTED BY JOAQUIM PEDRO DE ANDRADE

Deep in the virgin forest,

there was such a great silence,

while listening to the murmuring of the Uraricoera River, that...

That's it. He's born.

It's a boy, Mother.

Just look at his face, Mother. Isn't he adorable?

Good Lord! That boy's ugly as sin!

You're no beauty yourself, ma'am.

Don't cry, little brother.

Being ugly doesn't matter.

- And what about his name? - Macunaíma.

Names that begin with “ma”...

bring bad luck.

Macunaíma, hero of our people!

And so it was that in a place called Pai da Tocandeira, Brazil,

Macunaíma was born, hero of our people.

Even in childhood, he did astonishing things.

- How about a kiss for your sister-in-law? - He'll spit on you.

No, he won't.

The thorn that pricks is still a barb when small.

That boy is very intelligent.

First off, Macunaíma went more than six years without talking.

For fun, he decapitated ants.

He always stayed off to the side, watching the others work,

mainly his brothers,

Maanape, already a geezer, and Jiguê, in the vigor of manhood.

Does it taste good, sweetheart?

You can't talk, boy?

Ah, feeling lazy.

Macunaíma spent the days lying down,

but if he ever laid eyes on money, he'd jump to earn a penny.

He also woke up whenever the family went to bathe in the river,

all together and naked.

Sofará, Sofará!

What's the matter, Sofará? Did a crab bite you?

There are lots of land crabs here in this fresh water.

I'll dive in again and see if it's true.

It bit me!

That's funny.

The crabs don't bite us. They only bite you.

I've never seen a land crab in fresh water!

There's more shamelessness than crabs in there.

Did you go pee-pee?

Yes, Mother.

Blessings, Mother.

Good morning, sweetheart. Is it already time to wake up?

What are you doing?

Can't you see? I'm making a trap to catch tapirs.

Are there tapirs around here?

You know, I saw fresh tapir tracks over by the termite nest.

- Gimme a piece of rope. - What for?

I'm gonna make a tapir trap too.

Don't even think about it! This isn't a toy for children.

Aw, are you crying, everybody's little sweetheart?

No, I'm not.

- Don't you want to tell me about it? - No.

What is it?

Jiguê won't give me any rope to catch a tapir.

Ropes aren't toys for children. You could hang yourself.

Idiot.

Sofará! Hey, Sofará!

Take this little devil away or I'll go crazy!

Make him a trap, anything! Just get him out of here!

- I'm afraid he'll grab me again. - Get him out of here!

Let's go, sweetie. I'll make you a trap. Come on.

Sofará was a bit of a sorceress.

After she had made the trap,

she pulled from her privates a cigarette for the boy to smoke.

Take it.

Smoke it.

Smoke it!

As soon as he took the first puff...

Macunaíma became a handsome prince.

How handsome you look.

Really?

So handsome.

Take me in your arms. You look so handsome.

- Come with me. - Not here. Too many ants.

Let's go there.

Come on, quickly!

Didn't you do any work today?

Can't you see I'm exhausted? This boy played with me so much.

I'll teach you to play with others instead of doing your duty working for me!

Blessings, Mother.

Blessings, my son.

Sofará helped, but I had all the ideas.

Jiguê was very foolish.

He put his trap right where the tapir's tracks started.

But I knew that if it went away, it had to come back!

I put my trap where the tracks ended,

which is where it would start on the way back.

It would have to go past my trap first and then past Jiguê's trap.

Said and done! I got the tapir and Jiguê got nothing!

You first, Mother.

What about me?

This is tripe!

Yep, and it's good enough for you!

I'm the one who caught it, and all I get is tripe!

Yep, and that's good enough for you! Eat up and don't talk back!

Poor little thing.

If you like, ma'am, I can take him for a walk in the woods.

- Jiguê! - Sofará!

Take that! Stop, Macunaíma! Stop, Sofará! Son of a mare!

Jiguê was very foolish.

He sent Sofará away and quickly found a new companion, Iriqui.

She was always dressing up,

but she was quite shy and played dumb.

One day the floods came.

The banana groves rotted.

As for game, no one could catch anything else.

Not even an armadillo was to be found.

Hunger fell upon the hut.

Keep looking. There are still lots of fish over there.

Yeah, right there!

Maanape!

Maanape!

Look over in that grotto where they say there's money hidden.

- There! - Where?

There!

Hey. Jiguê!

Yesterday, I saw loads of catfish passing through there.

Go look! Go look!

Right there!

They're candiru, Maanape!

They swim up any hole, those little bastards!

Get away! Get away!

Hold this, Maanape.

- Are those the fish you saw? - No.

Only those damn candirus trying to swim up inside us.

That's funny.

I swear I saw a ton of fish right here yesterday.

Really?

You know, those fish used to be people just like us.

- Really? - When they saw you coming, they split.

Mother.

Close your eyes and ask like this,

“Who will take me to a nice dry place with bananas and lots of food to eat?”

Ask like that, Mother. Ask.

Who will take me to a nice dry place with bananas and lots of food to eat?

Who will take me to a nice dry place with bananas and lots of food to eat?

Open your eyes, Mother!

Mother, not to be nosy, but why are you taking so much?

To take to your brothers and the beautiful Iriqui, who are starving.

Mother, ask like this. “Who will take me back to the marsh?”

Close your eyes and ask.

And leave this food here!

Who will take me back to the marsh where there's no food at all?

Who will take me back to the marsh?

Who will take me back to the marsh?

Who will take me back?

You can open your eyes, Mother.

Why, Maanape, you're so skinny, Brother!

Come here!

Up you go.

Where are you taking me, Mother?

All right. Get down.

Now your mother is leaving.

You can stay here all alone. You're done growing up. Got it?

That'll teach you to behave. Brat!

Mama!

Mama!

The hero felt like he was about to cry.

But since nobody was around, he didn't cry.

He plucked up his courage and went on his way.

He wandered from place to place for a week

until one day...

Grandpa, give me a piece of meat to eat.

Of course, my child.

Here.

What are you doing in these woods, son?

Nothing. Just taking a walk.