A Rainha Diaba [The Devil Queen] (1974) - Antonio Carlos da Fontoura

A Rainha Diaba:The Devil Queen (1974) - Antonio Carlos da Fontoura

Director:Antonio Carlos da Fontoura
Writers:Plínio Marcos (story), Antonio Carlos da Fontoura (writer)
Plot:Crime queen and drug dealer, Diaba finds out that the police are after his protégé and decides to "make up" a new bandit to turn in in his place.
Also Known As:"The Devil Queen"
Runtime:100 min
Country:Brazil
Language: Portuguese
Subtitles:English srt
Further Details:See ScreenShots


Cast

Milton Gonçalves ... Rainha Diaba
Odete Lara ... Isa Gonzalez
Stepan Nercessian ... Bereco
Nelson Xavier ... Catitu
Yara Cortes ... Violeta (as Iara Cortes)
Wilson Grey ... Manco
Edgar Gurgel Aranha ... Robertinho
Lutero Luiz ... Anão
Geraldo Sobreira ... Odete
Kim Negro ... Dentinho (as Quim Negro)
Sidney Becker ... Pena, Nilson
Fábio Camargo
Selma Caronezzi ... Prostitute
Isolda Cresta
Haroldo de Oliveira ... Bigode
Letícia de Souza
Perfeito Fortuna
Arnaldo Moniz Freire
Arthur Maia
Sônia Maracajá
Procópio Mariano ... Coisa Ruim
Luiz Mendonça
Júlia Moreno
Zezé Motta ... Bigode's girlfriend
Banzo Negro
Paulo Neves
Paulão ... Driver (as Paulo Roberto)
André Paura
Pedro Pecado
Nilson Pena
Hilton Prado ... Gravata
Carlos Prieto ... Diaba's valet de chambre (as Carlinhos Prieto)
Marquinhos Rebu
Zé Roberto
Samuka (as Samuca)



Plot

"A Rainha Diaba" is Antonio Carlos da Fontoura's second film, 6 years (!!) after his critical and box-office hit "Copacabana Me Engana'. Making a total change in theme and visual style, "Rainha..." is about an underworld drug dealer in Rio de Janeiro, called "queen" Diaba (meaning "she-devil" and played by Milton Gonçalves), who happens to be black, gay, powerful, vindictive and extremely violent. As one of Diaba's dealers and special protégé is threatened to be caught by the police, Diaba concocts with sleazy Catitu (Nelson Xavier) a plan to make small-time pimp Bereco (Stepan Nercessian) fall down in his place. But things don't turn out as expected, as treason lurks everywhere around Diaba.

This was one of the first Brazilian films to deal -- in expressionist, non-realistic style -- with then new reality of large-scale organized drug dealing in Rio's favelas, on its way to become the incredibly violent and bloody business it is today. In his candid, must-see interview for the DVD release, Fontoura explains the idea behind "Diaba": every time he smoked a joint he wondered the amount of bloodshed that came with it.

The most remarkable aspect of "Rainha" is its visual treatment: the colors scream, like a Frida Kahlo on acid. José Medeiros' lighting and agile camera-work are stunning, but it's Ângelo de Aquino's hallucinating, jaw-dropping sets and costumes that leave an indelible impression, making early Almodóvar seems conservative by comparison. Fontoura's sure-hand style manages to mix expressionism, hyper-realim and gory violence (be prepared to see gallons of blood throughout) with a stylized depiction of Rio's underworld, thanks to good locations and fine casting choices.

The four stars of the movie are in great shape: Milton Gonçalves' Diaba is rather two-dimensional (he had no time to prepare for his role) but his hopelessly masculine physique helps: it's because he's a dog of a drag queen that his violence and anger seem legitimate. Odete Lara (Fontoura's ex-wife) is still an impressively sexy woman at 45, brave in her fight/sex scene with Bereco and giving it all in her scary torture scene, and she's obviously delighted (so are we) to have the two singing numbers that function as breath-recovering pauses for the audience. Nelson Xavier does his sleazy act wittily, maybe a tad mannered but always avoiding clichés. Most of all, it's Stepan Nercessian who steals our attention, building a living flesh-and-blood character out of Bereco, from small-time pimp to wide-eyed novice crook to trapped mouse in a big game, always managing to making us care for him, even if he's a rotten scumbag.

"Diaba" is thrilling, definitely worth your time for its eye-popping colors, costumes and sets, especially in the sparkling new DVD release.


IMDB Link

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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0189039/

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