" I was greedy, greedy for men, the
more the better. My father had many goats but just one billy-goat,
Inacio. I was a goat surrounded by several billy-goats, always
being mounted by one or another, on stony ground, on the grass,
on the bank of the river, in the sand on the beach. For me the
only thing that mattered was the pleasure of men and nothing else:
to lie down on the ground with a man on top of me. "
Tieta do Agreste,
Jorge Amado
After twelve years living and working in the
USA, Sonia Braga returned to Brazil to play Tieta,
a mature woman of 45, who returns powerful and full of sensuality
to Sant'Ana do Agreste, her hometown from which she was thrown
out at the age of seventeen.
In so doing, Sonia Braga resumed her
artistic and affectionate link with the exuberant characters of
the world of Jorge Amado, roles which had made her Brazil's
greatest TV and film star in the 1970's and 80's. "You can
always draw parallels, find coincidences," she says. "I
was out of Brazil for a long time but not as long as Tieta, but
in any case, a Brazilian living abroad always returns for Jorge
Amado."
In addition to the apparent similarities between
Tieta and Sonia Braga, the film has a special place in
her long relationship with the writer. He gave her the film rights
and it was she who set the ball rolling by inviting Carlos
Diegues to direct.
At 46, Sonia Braga takes great pride
in playing the role of a mature and extremely sexy woman on screen.
"It was Tieta who brought an end to my cultural exile,"
she declares.
How did it come about that Jorge Amado
gave you the film rights to Tieta do Agreste?
Just after filming Moon over Parador
(1988), I re-read Tieta and thought what a good film it would
make. I went to the US to enrol at the Sundance Institute - I
was a friend of Robert Redford, who was interested by the
project. I rang Jorge Amado and asked him about the film
rights. He said to me: "The rights are yours." Some
time later, at a film festival in Italy, at a dinner with a group
of Brazilians, Beth Fario told me she was going to play
Tieta. I looked at Jorge Amado who said, "It's just
for TV, just for TV." I didn't give it a second thought,
Jorge knows what he's doing. I went back to the States and told
Robert we would have to wait a few years because of the TV adaptation.
But Tieta stayed with me all those years.
And how did you come to choose Carlos
Diegues?
Carlos is one of the people I trust most in
Brazil. We met in New York and I said, "We're going to make
Tieta, you direct it." He agreed and found Bruno Stroppiana
and Donald Ranvaud to produce. Then we spoke to Jorge
Amado again who confirmed that he would grant us the rights.
It was great to work with Carlos at last. He has made one of the
most beautiful Brazilian films ever, probably because it is really
Brazilian. And the fact that Jorge Amado appears on screen
makes it even greater. I consider that to mean that he gives the
film his ultimate blessing.
How would you define Tieta?
Everybody has their own viewpoint of a character.
As Jorge Amado says, "I write the novel and what the
novel becomes depends upon the reader." My hold on the character
ends when shooting ends. I will say one thing however: I think
she is one of Jorge Amado's most mature and complete characters.
Were you happy with the filming?
I was very happy but it wasn't easy. The strange
thing is that the film involved a number of people making a return:
Ocimar Varsolato, the fashion designer who is based in
Paris, Chico Anysio and Jece Valadão, who
hadn't done any films for a long time. I also saw my return in
relationship to Carlos, Marilia Pera and Zezé
Motta and thought, 'My God, how absurd that I have never worked
with any of these people." And then there's Caetano's music
which is magnificent. Tieta had this magic of bringing all these
wonderful people together.
Did you like Ocimar Versolato's collection
for Tieta?
I loved it. Ocimar designed Tieta's emotions
through colour. She arrives dressed in orange - extravagant. When
she falls in love she wears red. She has a light blue dress which
is the most beautiful thing in the world.
| 1968 |
O bandido da luz vermelha |
Rogério Sganzerla |
| 1971 |
A moreninha |
Glauco Mirko Laurelli |
| 1973 |
Mestiça, a escrava indomavel |
Lenita Perroy |
| 1975 |
O casal |
Daniel Filho |
| 1976 |
Dona Flor e seus dois maridos |
Bruno Barreto |
| 1978 |
A dama do lotação |
Neville de Almeida |
| 1981 |
E tu amo |
Arnaldo Jabor |
| 1983 |
Gabriela |
Bruno Barreto |
| 1985 |
The Kiss of the Spider Woman |
Hector Babenco |
| 1987 |
The Man Who Broke 1000 Chains (TV) |
Daniel Mann |
| 1988 |
Moon Over Parador |
Paul Mazursky |
| 1988 |
The Milagro Beanfield War |
Robert Redford |
| 1990 |
The Rookie |
Clint Eastwood |
| 1991 |
The Last Prostitute (TV) |
Lou Antonio |
| 1994 |
The Burning Season (TV) |
John Frankenheimer |
| 1995 |
Two Deaths |
Nicholas Roeg |
| 1995 |
Streets of Leredo (TV) |
Joe Sargent |
| 1996 |
Money Plays (TV) |
Frank Gilroi |
|
