After 24 years of waiting, “The Compadecida Auto 2 ” arrived in Brazilian cinemas this Wednesday (25), continuing the classic by Guel Arraes released in 2000. In the film by Guel Arraes and Flávia Saraiva, the public will be able to find out what João Grilo’s return to the city of Taperoá was like 24 years ago after the premiere of the first film.
Matheus Nachtergaele and Selton Mello recreate the duo and play João Grilo and Chicó again, in the film that also features Virgínia Cavendish as Rosinha and Enrique Diaz as the bandit Joaquim Brejeiro. The news includes the arrival of names such as Eduardo Sterblitch, Fabiúla Nascimento, Luis Miranda and Humberto Martins; in addition to Taís Araújo, who shines in the film in the role of Our Lady, played by Fernanda Montenegro in the first version.
Check out who’s who in “Auto da Compadecida 2” here.
The script is written by Guel Arraes and João Falcão, with collaboration from Adriana Falcão and Jorge Furtado. Produced by Conspiração and H2O Filmes. Check below what works and what doesn’t in “O Auto da Compadecida 2”.
Spoiler alert: the following text contains spoilers for the film “Auto da Compadecida 2”.
New characters
The new arcs opened by the screenwriters give freshness to the narrative, such as the love triangle starring Rosinha (Virgínia Cavendish), Clarabela (Fabiúla Nascimento) and Chicó (Selton Mello). The amusing rivalry between Colonel Ernani (Humberto Martins) and radio host, radio actor and shopkeeper Arlindo (Eduardo Sterblitch) also shines on screen, rivaling the attention and influence of the celebrity who became João Grilo (Matheus Nachtergaele) after his return to Taperoá.
But what really shines is the performance of Luis Miranda, who plays the Rio rogue Antonio do Amor. The character is summoned by João Grilo to pose as a bishop and dissuade the people from the belief that he revived after Our Lady made her defense at the trial in the first film. With great irony, he is a man in a cassock who drinks cachaça — and gives the due part to the saint —, wears two-tone shoes and enjoys the pleasures of the flesh.
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Taís Araújo as Our Lady
Climbed to live the same Our Lady immortalized by Fernanda Montenegro, Taís Araújo takes completely different paths and is able to present a new facet of Compadecida, who once again uses her argumentative power and her belief in João Grilo to absolve him in the judgment at the end of the film.
If Fernandona created a maternal Our Lady, Taís Araújo’s saint is a partner and, at no point, does she stop believing in João Grilo’s nature. The star of “Da Cor do Pecado” and “Xica da Silva” even adds a layer of good humor to the character.
The God and the Devil in each of us
At the trial, the one who steals the show is Matheus Nachtergaele, who plays not only João Grilo, but also Jesus Christ and the Devil. The film’s big star, the Bahian manages, at the same time, to create new versions of the characters and pay beautiful tributes to the actors who brought them to life in the first feature. He replicates the mannerisms of Luís Melo and Maurício Gonçalves, who played the Devil and Christ.
The choice is the film’s way of showing that each of us has a Jesus Christ and a Devil, a good side and a bad side to call our own.
Social and political criticism
Criticizing the powerful and the way they oppress the poorest is one of the narrative threads of the first film. In the sequel, the figure of the populist politician, who does everything to be elected, is what ties the narrative together. Colonel Ernani (Humberto Martins) and Arlindo (Eduardo Sterblitch) compete for mayor of Taperoá with the strength of their power. The first is a rich farmer in the region; and the second owns the only radio station in the city, in addition to working as a radio host at the station and owning the only store that sells radios there.
The duo also compete for the attention of João Grilo who, having become a celebrity due to the miracle of the resurrection, ends up being the person on the scales and the main canvasser of the election in Taperoá. With his influence, he also achieves some benefits for the people of the city, such as the super June festival which is the result of an effort by Coronel and Arlindo to surpass each other in the quality of the event.
Things only go wrong when João Grilo’s power surpasses that of the candidates and, threatened, he is unable to take sides and choose one side. The people then decide that they want the protagonist as mayor.
Defense of the faith
The film’s main message is the defense of the power of faith. João Grilo returns to life, thanks to the intervention of Our Lady, with the mission of spreading the word of God and maintaining firm the people’s belief in his resurrection as irrefutable proof of the saint’s existence and mercy. This is the way the film chooses to defend the transformative power of faith for the people of the Northeast.
Watch the interview with the cast of “O Auto da Compadecida 2” below
O Auto da Compadecida 2: Our Lady will have music written by Bethânia
This content was originally published in “Auto da Compadecida 2”: what worked and what didn’t work afterwards on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
