All the Women in the World

Domingos de Oliveira's 1966 Brazilian film is about Paulo, who treats his relationships with women as a collection. Meeting a friend's fiancee changes how he sees them, and he has to decide between committing to one person and continuing his old life. The film is set in the intellectual circles of Rio in the sixties and speaks that circle's language. The dialogue is fast, naturalistic and, by the standards of the time, free. Leila Diniz's performance became its most discussed element; her character speaks directly about her own sexuality, which was unusual in Brazilian cinema in 1966. It stands apart from the political strand of Cinema Novo; the subject is not class or poverty but middle-class ways of relating. Critics at the time were divided about it for that reason. Who it's for: those interested in sixties Brazilian cinema and relationship comedies. Who it's not for: viewers troubled by narratives centred on a man's gaze; the film never leaves Paulo's perspective.