The compelling new Brazilian movie Antônia depicts the lives of four talented young women from a Sao Paulo favela as they try to find success and independence as rappers and singers. The four, childhood friends, struggle with obligations to husbands, family, and friends as well as music business treachery and maintaining creative control over their music. Obviously they also face extra resistance in the especially male dominated subculture of hip-hop, beyond the usual machismo of Brazilian society.
To maintain realism director Tata Amaral used a documentary style, filming with handheld cameras on location in real poverty stricken neighborhoods of the city. The realism is enhanced by the fresh cast, mostly acting for first time, of singers and rappers from Sao Paulo. Their experience as performers shows in the concert scenes, these are women(and some men) who can pump up the tough, skeptical audiences with real skills.
Also there are several quieter performances with Negra Li taking the lead singing.Negra Li as Preta and Leilah Moreno as Barbarah become the central characters of the film as the two other girls must leave the group. Preta leaves her cheating husband with their daughter but cannot face returning to her strict, religious parents. She moves in with Barbarah and her brother Duda. One night the pair returns from a show to find Duda and his boyfriend beaten and unconscious in the street. Barbarah’s temper and martial arts skills get her serious trouble as one of the attackers comes after her. Both actresses beautifully show the emotion and strain as these women make difficult compromises to survive. Providing comic relief is Thaide as Marcelo Diamante, the group’s goofy, slightly sleazy manager.
