Desmundo

Desmundo is a 2002 Brazilian drama film by Alain Fresnot, based on the novel of the same name by Ana Miranda. The film is set in 1570, a period when orphan Portuguese girls were sent to marry the settlers' sons. This was done to prevent the Portuguese from having sons with the indigenous peoples and black people in order to keep the Christian marriage and a "pure" heritage. The film follows Oribela (Simone Spoladore) as she is sent from Portugal to Brazil to marry Francisco de Albuquerque (Osmar Prado).^[3]

Desmundo
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Alain Fresnot
Written by	Alain Fresnot Sabina Anzuategui Anna Muylaert
Based on	Desmundo by Ana Miranda
Produced by	Alain Fresnot Van Fresnot
Starring	Simone Spoladore Osmar Prado Caco Ciocler
Cinematography	Pedro Farkas
Edited by	Junior Carone Alain Fresnot Mayalu Oliveira
Music by	John Neschling
Production company	A.F. Cinema e Vídeo
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	October 5, 2002 (2002-10-05) (Festival do Rio) May 30, 2003 (2003-05-30) (Brazil)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	Brazil
Language	Galician Portuguese
Budget	R$4.5 million[1]
Box office	R$692,921[2]

Cast

• Simone Spoladore as Oribela
• Osmar Prado as Francisco de Albuquerque
• Caco Ciocler as Ximeno Dias
• Berta Zemel as Mrs Branca
• Beatriz Segall as Mrs Brites
• José Eduardo as governator
• Débora Olivieri as Maria
• José Rubens Chachá as João Couto
• Cacá Rosset as Afonso Soares D'Aragão
• Giovanna Borghi as Bernardinha
• Laís Marques as Giralda
• Arrigo Barnabé as musician

Production

In order to be more faithful to the period Desmundo is set, Fresnot—beyond of using clothing, furniture and costumes—decided that the characters would speak in archaic Portuguese. He said it was a "very hard decision", but felt it would seem shallow to use colloquial language in a historical film. Thus, the film has subtitles in contemporary Portuguese.^[4] Its filming took place in Ubatuba, São Paulo.^[5]

Reception

At the 35th Festival de Brasília, Desmundo won Best Score and Best Supporting Actress (Berta Zemel).^[6] It won Best Art Direction (Adrian Cooper and Chico Andrade), Best Costume Design (Marjorie Guelle) and Best Make Up (Vavá Torres) at the Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro.^[7]