World Language Resources

Winner of both the Academy Award for best foreign-language film and the Cannes Film festival Palme d’Or, marcel Camus’ “Black Orpheus (Orfeu negro)” brings the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice to the twentieth-century madness of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. With its eye-popping photography and ravishing, epochal soundtrack, “Black Orpheus” was an international cultural event, and it kicked off the bossa nova craze that set hi-fid across America spinning.

Inside Rio de Janeiro’s bustling Central Station, two very unlikely souls are about to become inextricably linked. When a young boy (Vincius de Oliviera) witnesses his mother’s accidental death, a lonely retired schoolteacher reluctantly takes the child under her wing. Although initially distrustful of each other, the two for an uncommon bond as they venture from the bustling city to Brazil’s barren and remote northeast region in search of the boy’s father. Together, the two embark on a journey of the heart that restores the woman’s spirit and teaches the child precious life lessons. A powerful tear-jerker of uncommon grace and heart, Central Station is destined to become a classic.

A sweeping tale of how crime affects the poor population of Rio de Janeiro. Though the narrative skips around in time, the main focus is on Cabeleira who formed a gang called the Tender Trio. He and his best friend, Bene, become crime lords over the course of a decade. When Bene is killed before he can retire, Little Ze attempts to take out his arch enemy, Sando Cenoura. But Sando and a young gangster named Manu form an alliance and begin a gang war with Little Ze. Amateur photographer Buscape, a good-natured boy who comically learns that he's not cut out to be a hoodlum, takes pictures of the brutal crime war, making their story famous.