Roberto Santos Pinhanez (1928–1987) was a Brazilian film director, known for films like '' Matraga'' (''A Hora e Vez de Augusto Matraga'') and ''The Great Moment'' (''O Grande Momento'').

Biography

Santos was born in a working-class suburb of

Sao Paulo SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U. ...

in 1928. He started his cinema activities around 1952, in the first big studio built in Brazil, the Vera Cruz Studio. In 1956, Santos made his first movie, ''O Grande Momento'' (''The Great Moment''), the first neo-realistic movie made in Brazil. In 1965, Roberto Santos adapted a short novel by Guimaraes Rosa, ''A Hora e Vez de Augusto Matraga'' (''Matraga''), the only successful adaptation to cinema of a work by Guimaraes Rosa, the most important name in Brazilian literature in this century. The film was shown at the

1966 Cannes Film Festival The 19th Cannes Film Festival was held from 5 to 20 May 1966. To honour the festival's 20th anniversary, a special prize was given. The Grand Prix du Festival International du Film went to the '' Signore & Signori'' by Pietro Germi, in tie with ' ...

. During the late 1960s and 1970s, his career was marked by problems with

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. Nevertheless, he directed six more movies, among them, two experimental movies; ''Vozes do Medo'' (''Voices of Fear'') — a movie with the structure of a magazine — and ''As Tres Mortes de Solano'' (''The Three Deaths of Solano''), an experiment where the same plot is told three times, first in the fantastic realm, then as a realistic plot, and finally as a circus

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speakin ...

. Meanwhile, he worked in television and directed commercials. The success of an adaptation for TV of another Guimaraes Rosa's story prompted him to write a screenplay for the short novel ''Campo Geral'', about a kid growing in the back-country of Brazil. After months of trouble to obtain the rights, the project was abandoned, and he decided to tackle another myth of Brazilian literature, ''Machado de Assis''. His last movie, ''Quincas Borba'', recreated Machado de Assis's ''fin-de-siecle'' universe in the troubled 1980s. Roberto Santos died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

at the São Paulo airport in 1987, just after returning from the Festival of Gramado, where ''Quincas Borba'' was shown and heavily criticized by a clique of critics.

Filmography

*''Quincas Borba'' (1987) *''Nasce Uma Mulher'' (1983) *''Os Amantes da Chuva'' (1979) *''As Três Mortes de Solano'' (1978) *''Contos Eróticos'' (1977) (segment "Arroz com Feijão") ** ''Erotic Stories'' (International: English title) *''Vozes do Medo'' (1972) *''Um Anjo Mau'' (1971) **a.k.a. ''The Evil Angel'' *''O Homem Nu'' (1968) **a.k.a. ''The Naked Man'' *''As Cariocas'' (1966) *'' A Hora e a Vez de Augusto Matraga'' (1965) **a.k.a. ''Matraga'' **a.k.a. ''The Hour and Turn of Augusto Matraga'' (USA) *''O Grande Momento'' (1958) **a.k.a. ''The Grand Moment'' (International: English title)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Roberto 1928 births 1987 deaths Brazilian film directors People from São Paulo