Best Brazilian Movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime (2021)

5. Cidade Pássaro (Shine Your Eyes)

Lyrical tour de force by Brazilian filmmaker Matias Mariani.

Amadi, a musician from Lagos, Nigeria, arrives in São Paulo to track down his estranged brother, who is living a life very different than the one his family thought.

Fascinating portrait of the lives of African diaspora in the high-rise canyons of São Paulo.

This multicultural film features dialogue in Igbo (a national language of Nigeria), English, Portuguese, Hungarian, and even Chinese.

6. Operações Especiais

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.

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

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.

8. Elena

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.

9. O Matador (The Killer)

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.

10. Jonas

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.

11. Paraíso Perdido (Paradise Lost)

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.

12. Tudo Bem no Natal Que Vem (Just Another Christmas)

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

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)

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. You can also buy it here.

3. Tropa de Elite 2 – O Inimigo Agora é Outro (Elite Squad: The Enemy Within)

Note: Available free on Amazon with ads, or rent it here.

Tropa de Elite‘s hugely popular sequel is a bleak exposé of corruption and crime in Brazil often considered superior to the original.

The action picks up 13 years after the end of the first film. After a deadly prison riot, Captain Nascimento is promoted to a powerful new post and swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials and paramilitary groups.

This fast-paced, violent action thriller is the highest-grossing film of all time in Brazil.

4. A Vida Invisível (Invisible Life)

Haunting tropical melodrama set in 1950s Rio.

Eurídice and Guida are two inseparable sisters living with their conservative parents. Each one nourishes a dream: Eurídice of becoming a renowned pianist, Guida of finding true love

In a dramatic turn, they are separated by their father and forced to live apart. They take control of their separate destinies, while never giving up hope of finding each other.

Starring Julia Stockler, Carol Duarte, Gregório Duvivier of Porta dos Fundos fame, and Fernanda Montenegro. By the director of Madame Satã.

Based on the Brazilian novel “A Vida Invisível de Eurídice Gusmão” by Martha Batalha.

Brazil’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2020 Academy Awards.

5. Sonhos Roubados (Stolen Dreams)

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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.

6. Vermelho Russo (Russian Red)

Inspired by the diary of actress Martha Nowill, this first-ever Brazilian-Russian film co-production follows two young Brazilian actresses in Moscow studying the Stanislavski method.

This engaging documentary-style film depicts the inner journey of a group of foreigners in a culture extremely different from theirs.

7. 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.

8. Além dos sonhos (Beyond Dreams)

Inspiring documentary about Brazilian mountaineer Roman Romancini, who overcomes cancer and a car accident to take on the most challenging expedition of his life: climbing Mount Everest.

9. Sequestro 

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

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.

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

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.

12. 2 Coelhos (Two Rabbits)

Note: Available free on Amazon with an XLTV channel trial.

This adrenaline-fueled action thriller features lots of slick visual effects, animations, and pop culture references.

Enjoyable despite an overly tangled plot involving gangsters and corrupt politicians.

1. Cidade de Deus (City of God)

A cult classic that received four Oscar nominations and made Film4’s “50 Films to See Before You Die.”

Set in a lawless slum, this unforgettable drama tells the story of a boy called Buscapé (Rocket) who avoids being drawn into a life of drugs and crime through his passion for photography.

2. Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus)

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

3. Cidade dos Homens (City of Men)

In this follow-up to Cidade de Deus, 18-year-old best friends Acerola and Laranjinha are struggling to come to terms with the pressures of manhood in the midst of a bloody neighborhood gang war.

Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco (1981)

Heartbreaking tale of Pixote, a street kid who becomes enmeshed in an underworld of drugs and violence. This chilling portrayal of children reduced to theft and prostitution to survive was filmed on the streets of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Tragically, the illiterate 11-year-old who plays Pixote was killed in a shoot-out by police a few years later.

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O Auto da Compadecida (A Dog’s Will) (2000)

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This Brazilian box-office sensation based on a play follows the fanciful misadventures of two friends in an impoverished region of Northeast Brazil who have to use their wits to survive.

Their schemes eventually land them on trial being judged by the Devil, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary (played by the excellent Fernanda Montenegro).

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.

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Bruna Surfistinha (Confessions of a Brazilian Call Girl)

This racy drama is inspired by the true story of Raquel, a rebellious teen who ran away from home for a new life as a high-class call girl. She soon became Bruna Surfistinha, a national celebrity who blogged about her salacious experiences. However, fame brought its own set of problems.

Based on the non-fiction book O Doce Veneno do Escorpião: O Diário de uma Garota de Programa (The Scorpion’s Sweet Venom: The Diary of a Brazilian Call Girl).

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Bye Bye Brasil (1980)

This gentle ode to the past features stunning visuals and some great performances.

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

Based on the novel of the same name by Jorge Amado, this fanciful Brazilian comedy takes place in 1940s Bahia. Dona Flor (Sonia Braga) is a young woman who weds a handsome ne’er-do-well.

When he suddenly dies, she marries a respectable but dull pharmacist, but soon finds herself longing for hubby No. 1. Next thing you know, his ghost appears.

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

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.

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.

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Have feedback on these best movies from Brazil or more Amazon Prime or Netflix Brazilian film recommendations? Please share your thoughts in the comments.