Monday, September 27, 2010

Dzi Croquettes

The Brazilian Film Festival of Toronto ended on a high note: the screening of phenomenal documentary Dzi Croquettes.

The Croquettes were a troupe of 13 actors and dancers who put on shows in Rio in the 70s and in their unforgettable performances, embodied a sexual and behavioral revolution taking place in Brazil at the time, all in the middle of a military dictatorship.

The movie is filled with priceless footage of these amazing people who aimed to be neither men nor women, while playing both. Their avant-guarde performances left a deep impression on artists who came after them, both in Brazil and abroad. Liza Minelli was so enthralled that she hung out with them when in Brazil and later she gave them their big break in Paris, when the press was ignoring them until she invited all her friends to go see their show.

Most amazingly, Josephine Baker also fell in love with them and asked that after she died, she wanted their show to take her spot at the Théâtre Bobino. Not too long after that, La Baker died on stage and her wish was honored.

Unfortunately, the Dzi Croquettes' influence and legacy is not well-known in Brazil outside the artistic demi-monde. Hopefully this documentary will change that and reinstate these pioneers in the Brazilian culture constellation where they belong.

2 comments:

  1. It's a play on "The" as they were sometimes compared to San Francisco's alternative-culture movement "The Cockettes."

    ReplyDelete