This rags-to-not-quite-riches story of four young women trying to sing their way out of the desperate poverty of the slums of São Paulo is a triumph thanks to both its sense of authenticity and refusal to wallow in sentimentality. Friends since childhood, Preta (Negra Li), Barbarah (Leilah Moreno), Mayah (Quelynah), and Lena (Cindy) quit their gigs as backup singers, striking out on their own as a rap quartet named Antonia with a particularly female sensibility. Antonia's lyrics carry both the pain and the hope of their hard lives, but the very things that often knock women back figuratively and literally (a jealous and abusive boyfriend, an unexpected pregnancy), threaten the group's rise to success. Unaffected performances—the actresses are all Brazilian pop stars—combined with winning direction by Tata Amaral that puts the viewer right on the mean streets that the women are trying to escape make Antonia a fresh and compelling cinematic experience. Highly recommended. (M. Johanson)
Antonia
Echo Bridge, 88 min., in Portuguese w/English subtitles, PG-13, DVD: $26.99 Volume 23, Issue 2
Antonia
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: