24 Best Brazilian Movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime (2019)

2. Aquarius (2016)

This critically acclaimed film stars the great Sonia Braga as a retired music critic and widow who refuses to sell her apartment to greedy developers bent on demolition. She delivers a powerful performance as the final holdout in her historic beachside building in Recife.

3. Operações Especiais (2015)

In a crime-plagued area of Rio de Janeiro, a team of honest cops, including a determined rookie, fights corruption and mistrust on all sides.

4. Cidade de Deus: 10 Anos Depois (City of God: 10 Years Later) (2013)

Fans of the seminal Cidade de Deus (see above) shouldn’t miss this fascinating documentary that reunites some of the cast and crew to find out the paths their lives took after the film’s worldwide success.

5. O Menino e o Mundo (Boy and the World) (2013)

Young Cuca leaves his idyllic village on a grand adventure to find his father, who has traveled to the city seeking work. Brazilian artist Alê Abreu’s masterpiece earned major accolades, including an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.

Language note: The entire film contains very little dialogue and what dialogue there is, is actually Portuguese, but backwards! So it might not be the best choice for Portuguese listening comprehension. 😉 This charming animated fantasy does contain many cultural references, however, as well as a spectacular mix of Brazilian music on the soundtrack.

6. Serra Pelada (Bald Mountain) (2013)

Best friends Juliano and Joaquim head for Serra Pelada with dreams of riches during the Brazilian Gold Rush of 1980, but greed scuttles their plans.

7. Jonas (2015)

During Carnival in São Paulo, a young man and woman from different social classes who knew each other as children meet again after many years. On the day of the festival, Jonas kidnaps Branca in order to keep them both safe from his boss. Hiding inside the whale, the main float for the Carnival parade, the two reconnect and make choices that will affect their lives forever.

8. Laerte-se (2017)

The first Netflix original documentary made in Brazil. After living as a man for nearly 60 years, Laerte Coutinho, one of Brazil’s most brilliant cartoonists, introduces herself to the world as a woman.

9. Sonhos Roubados (Stolen Dreams) (2010)

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Moving and surprisingly sweet coming-of-age tale of three teenage girls fighting for their dreams in a favela of Rio de Janeiro. This award-winning film by director Sandra Werneck features great performances and provides a realistic look at the dilemmas faced by these young women, while celebrating their joy, solidarity, and friendship.

Also stars Rio rapper MV Bill, known for his street-level activism helping kids and combating violence in the favela Cidade de Deus where he lives.

Based on the book “Corner Girls – A Diary about the Dreams, Trials and Adventures of Six Adolescents in Brazil,” by journalist Eliane Trindade, who spent two years documenting the lives of six teenage girls trying to achieve their dreams despite having to prostitute themselves to make ends meet.

10. Vida Ballet (Only When I Dance) (2009)

This feel-good documentary follows two teenage ballet dancers aspiring to leave their violent favela homes in Rio de Janeiro to join a revolutionary dance company in the US.

11. Vermelho Russo (Russian Red) (2017)

Inspired by the diary of actress Martha Nowill, this first-ever Brazilian-Russian film co-production recounts the soul-searching trip of two young Brazilian actresses in Moscow. The film makes use of documentary filmmaking technique to portray a fictional story that depicts the inner journey of a group of foreigners in a culture extremely different from theirs.

12. Gringo Favelado

It’s about half in English, but this fascinating and moving documentary explores life in Rio’s poverty-stricken favelas through the eyes of three British expats who decided to call them home.

13. Uma história de Amor e Furia (Rio 2096: A Story Of Love And Fury) (2013)

This gorgeous award-winning animation narrates the 600-year love story of an immortal tribal warrior and his beloved, following them through four phases of Brazilian history: colonization, slavery, the military regime, and the year 2096 when the world is at war for water.

14. Era Uma Vez Eu, Verônica (Veronica) (2011)

Fresh out of medical school, beautiful young Verônica navigates wildly passionate affairs, dicey career moves, and harrowing life decisions as she settles down in Recife. Trailer mildly NSFW.

15. Sequestro (2011)

Enter the raw and gritty world of São Paulo’s kidnapping epidemic, following a film crew as they ride alongside special police units over four years. A chilling look at the trauma suffered by kidnap victims and their families, as well as the tremendous pressure facing the police investigating these crimes.

16. City of God: The Redemption of a Favela (2012)

Rio de Janeiro’s City of God favela is known for crime and poverty, but this French documentary offers a different perspective. The film explores a changing city, highlighted by revamped public security. An inspiring portrait of a resilient, hard-working people joined in celebration of life and music.

17. Se Deus Vier Que Venha Armado (If God Comes, Let Him Bring a Gun) (2014)

Set over 72 hours at the height of the 2012 attacks and counterattacks between military police and organized crime in São Paulo, the lives of five people collide: a young man on leave from prison, his straitlaced brother, his best friend, a rookie cop, and a young actress.

18. O Outro Lado do Cartão-Postal (The Other Side of the Postcard) (2016)

This social documentary looks beyond the postcard image of Rio to its often misrepresented darker side. The Favela Pacification Program was launched in 2008 to reduce crime and drug trafficking in Rio de Janeiro. In April 2015, however, police shot and killed 10-year old Eduardo. The program had become the very thing it was designed to destroy.

Bonus: Famous Brazilian Movies on Netflix DVD

Subscribers to Netflix’s DVD service may be dwindling, but for movie buffs it remains a great way to access a large catalog of mostly older films. If you have a DVD subscription, don’t miss these classic Brazilian films.

(Sadly, some really great Brazilian movies are not available, like 2 Coelhos, O Auto da Compadecida, or Pixote. If I find them online anywhere, I will update my listing.)

These films can also likely be found at your local library or even on YouTube.

19. Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus) (1959)

^{Note: No English subtitles available}

This superb retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice Greek legend is set against Rio de Janeiro’s madness during Carnival. Black Orpheus earned an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

20. Central do Brasil (Central Station) (1998)

Dora (Fernanda Montenegro), who writes letters for illiterate people at Rio de Janeiro’s central railroad station, feels compelled to help 9-year-old Josué locate his estranged father after the child’s mother dies in a car accident. This Oscar-nominated drama follows Dora and the boy on their journey to Brazil’s remote Northeast.

21. Tropa de Elite (Elite Squad) (2007)

In this gritty action-thriller starring Warner Moura, some Rio de Janeiro cops are just as crooked as the drug lords who run the slums. Also check out the sequel, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within.

22. O Que é Isso, Companheiro? (Four Days in September) (1997)

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Based on a moving true story, a group of young idealists plans a terrorist act — their only perceived means of voicing their dreams and visions in a military regime — in this account of the 1969 kidnapping of the American ambassador to Brazil. Some dialogue in English.

23. Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos (Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands) (1976)

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Proving that bad boys are hard to shake, this fanciful Brazilian comedy follows the adventures of Dona Flor, a conventional girl who weds a handsome ne’er-do-well. Soon, she finds herself longing for hubby No. 1, and next thing you know, his ghost appears.

24. Cidade Baixa (Lower City)

Sensual tale with great performances set in gorgeous, gritty Salvador starring Alice Braga and Wagner Moura. When two childhood friends become entangled in a steamy love triangle with an exotic dancer, the resulting jealous battle threatens to destroy them.

_{Banner image from the movie O Roubo da Taça (sadly no longer on Netflix) © 2016 by Caito Ortiz – Agência Pressphoto}