Xica

Carlos Diegues's 1976 Brazilian film is about Xica da Silva, who lived in the diamond district in the eighteenth century. Bought as a slave, she rises through her relationship with the most powerful man in the region to a position that overturns the order of the town. The film builds this as a narrative of triumph. Xica demands a house like a palace, a retinue of her own and a lake dug because she has never seen the sea; the narrative uses exaggeration deliberately and makes the colonial order ridiculous. Zezé Motta leads and the role is counted as a turning point in Brazilian cinema. The film drew large audiences at home; it was also criticised for tying the woman's power almost entirely to her sexuality, and that argument continues. Who it's for: those who like Brazilian cinema and historical satire. Who it's not for: viewers expecting measured treatment of slavery and sexuality; the film proceeds through nudity and caricature.