O AMOR NATURAL
dir. Heddy Honigmann, 1995
Brazil, 76 min
In Brazilian Portuguese w/ English subtitles

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4 – 7:30 PM
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9 – 10 PM
MONDAY, DECEMBER 19 – 10 PM

O AMOR NATURAL is a documentary film about the erotic poetry of one of the greatest Latin American poets of the 20th century, the Brazilian Carlos Drummond de Andrade (1902-1987).

The erotic poems of Carlos Drummond de Andrade, a household name in Brazil, remained unpublished during his lifetime, as he feared they would be deemed pornographic. In this celebration of his poetry and sensual vision, elderly residents of Rio read his poems and comment on their graphic, voluptuous imagery with tremendous candor and enthusiasm. “We’re old. We’re not dead!” interjects one reader, as memories of stolen pleasures and bittersweet melancholy unfold. Says Honigmann: “The poems sometimes functioned as a kind of corkscrew, sometimes as a glass of water, sometimes as a glass of brandy.”

“Approaching literature not through critical analysis but through its effect on everyday people – in this case, elderly Brazilians gamely reciting the poet’s voluptuous verses – this warm, simple film uncovers a rich vein of ageless, grassroots sensuality and joie de vivre.” —Variety