An An allegory of the capitalist system

Representations of cocoa society in the film Os deuses e os mortos (1970), by Ruy Guerra

Abstract

This article discusses the aesthetic and political aspects chosen by filmmaker Ruy Guerra to represent the cocoa region in the film Os Deuses e os Mortos, released in 1970. Through the resource of allegory, the film sets its narrative in the 1920s but suggests a juxtaposition of temporalities when dialoguing with its production context, considering that the 'socio-historical' interpretation (Ferro, 1992) conceives the filmic work in constant dialogue with its time. The present proposal analyzes relations between history and cinema from the method of filmic analysis outlined by Golliot-Lété and Vanoyé (2012), added to bibliographic and material research of the film and the subjects involved in it, such as interviews, biographies and film criticism. The theoretical referential on cinema is composed, among others, by Marc Ferro (1992); Eduardo Morettin (2003); Marcos Napolitano (2008); Ismail Xavier (1997). The contributions on representation made by Chartier (1990) are essential to this analysis since they conceive of representations as instances of conflicts – the struggles of representation. Belonging to the Cinema Novo movement, the director uses allegory to make a critical approach to the cocoa monoculture during the twenties of the last century. After analyzing the sources, we can infer that cocoa is used as an example to allude to a macro economic structure, called 'empire' in the film, suggesting a connection with global circumstances, such as the liberation movements in Portuguese-speaking African colonies – including Mozambique, the homeland of filmmaker Ruy Guerra.