Madame Sata

A powerfully moving and emotional film that is as rough around the edges as it is soft at its core, MADAME SATA tells the life story of Jaoa Francisco dos Santos (Lazaro Ramos), an historic figure in Brazilian counterculture. Known to his followers and friends as Madame Sata, which is his stage name in the haunting narrative performances he gives dressed in drag, Joao is paterfamilias to a bizarre group of street urchins that reside in his apartment as his surrogate family. Set in 1932 in the rowdy ghetto of Rio de Janeiro called Lapa, the film presents Jaoa as a near-mythic persona who is in turns a hustler, a criminal, a street fighter, a murderer, and above all, a hero. Sometimes dizzying in both its photography and its subject matter, and fascinating all the way through, MADAME SATA leaves viewers feeling confused, enchanted, and a bit forlorn. Its treatment of race and class issues is harsh and disturbing, but Jaoa's dreams of performing at the Blue Danube nightclub and providing a better life for his friends are ultimately enlightening. Director Karim Ainouz has created a truly artful film with his first feature, which was shown at Sundance and Cannes in 2003.

Cast:

"...Dervish-like camera moves capture the physical velocity and momentum of Sata....A delirious dose of degenerate empowerment..." -- Chris Chang , (Film Comment)

"...[The film] is a voluptuous, hot-blooded portrait of a social outcast....Mr. Ramos's incendiary performance burns like a fuse, lighted from deep inside his skin, that explodes with devastating emotional fireworks..." -- Stephen Holden , (New York Times)

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