Best Brazilian Movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime (2020)

1. Aquarius (2016)

A beautiful meditation on aging, memory, and intimacy. Sônia Braga delivers a magnetic performance as Clara, a retired writer and widow who’s the final holdout in her historic beachside building in Recife.

Tensions ratchet up as greedy developers bent on demolition try to bully Clara into selling her cherished apartment.

2. Modo Avião (Airplane Mode) (2020)

^{Note: No English subtitles available. Click to watch trailer on Netflix.}

This charming rom-com is the most popular non-English movie produced by Netflix so far.

Brazilian actress and Instagram mega-star Larissa Manoela stars as Ana, a young social media influencer addicted to her smartphone. When she crashes her car while using her phone, Ana’s shipped to her grumpy grandfather’s farm in the country and forced into a digital detox.

Sweetly predictable, with easy-to-understand dialogue. Filmed in the city of São Paulo and the picturesque town of São Bento do Sapucaí in São Paulo state.

3. Democracia en Vertigem (The Edge of Democracy) (2019)

Political documentary and personal memoir collide in this poetic exploration by filmmaker Petra Costa.

Extraordinary insider footage provides unprecedented access to the downfall of presidents Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva and the erosion of Brazilian democracy.

I especially loved the mesmerizing aerial shots of Brasília, the nation’s capital.

4. 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.

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

Fans of the seminal Cidade de Deus 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.

6. Elena (2012)

In this moving, dreamlike documentary, Petra Costa, who also directed The Edge of Democracy, remembers her older sister, Elena, who left her life behind under Brazil’s dictatorship and moved to New York with dreams of becoming an actress.

A melancholy film about longing, grief, and memory.

7. 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.

8. O Matador (The Killer) (2017)

This excellent but extremely violent Brazilian Western tells the story of Cabeleira (Shaggy), a savage killer from the barren sertão of Pernambuco state in the 1910s to 1940s.

Cabeleira, raised by a local cangaceiro (bandit) who found him as an abandoned baby, grows up in the wilderness, completely isolated from civilization. Cabeleira’s search for his lost father leads him back to civilization, but he cannot escape the legacy of his violent past.

Characters speak with heavy Northeastern accents.

9. 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.

10. Paraíso Perdido (Paradise Lost) (2018)

A cop moonlights as the bodyguard for a young drag queen at a nightclub, and grows closer to the family of misfit singers that perform there.

This thoughtful film featuring musician Seu Jorge also includes subtitled dialogue in Brazilian Sign Language, Língua Brasileira de Sinais or LIBRAS.

1. Que Horas Ela Volta? (The Second Mother) (2015)

The longtime housekeeper for a wealthy São Paulo family, Val is committed to loyalty and respect. But her values and the dynamic of the whole household are challenged when her teen daughter visits.

Selected as the Brazilian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.

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

If you liked Cidade de Deus, don’t miss this gritty action-thriller that became a cultural phenomenon in Brazil.

Warner Moura stars as a captain in the elite BOPE squad, a paramilitary police commando force, in this brutal tale of corrupt cops and drug dealers in the slums of Rio.

The film is based on the book of the same name by sociologist Luiz Eduardo Soares and two former BOPE captains.

Unfortunately, this film seems to come and go frequently from free Prime streaming, so if you don’t find it available, try adding it to your watchlist and checking back later.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. Gringo Favelado (2016)

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.

7. Luz, câmera, pichação (Lights, Camera, Pichação) (2011)

Pichação, or tagging, is a common sight in the Southeastern metropolises of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Pichadores often compete to leave their spray-painted signatures in the highest and most inaccessible locations.

For many, pichação is vandalism. This Brazilian documentary follows some pichadores and gives them a voice, revealing their methods, personal stories, and beliefs.

8. 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.

9. Sequestro (2011)

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.

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

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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. Capoeira, um passo a dois (Capoeira, Inside The Game) (2016)

^{Note: No English subtitles available -- Watch subtitled trailer on Amazon instead}

Fans of the Afro-Brazilian art of capoeira will enjoy this hybrid documentary, which mingles a fictionalized story with archive footage from the early days of capoeira.

Jorge Itapuã and Ella, two traveling capoeira players, master and disciple, go on a journey around the world to encounter the capoeira movement in various countries like Israel, India, Japan, and Indonesia.

Famous Brazilian Movies on Netflix DVD

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

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

Even More Top Brazilian Movies

Sadly, Netflix’s DVD catalog is constantly shrinking, and some really excellent Brazilian films are not available. Look for these gems at your local library or on YouTube.

Have feedback on these best movies from Brazil or more Amazon Prime or Netflix Brazilian film recommendations? My most helpful suggestions come from my readers. Please share your thoughts in the comments.