Women's football was banned in Brazil until 1983, the year Onda Nova was produced. This erotic and anarchist dramatic comedy brings together stories about the female players of a newly formed football team, who are forced to deal with the prejudices of a conservative society that reviles them, as well as grapple with their own personal problems.
Brazil / 103 min / 1983 / fiction
in Portuguese with English subtitles
Direction: Francisco C. Martins, José Antonio Garcia
Screenplay: Francisco C. Martins, José Antonio Garcia
Cinematography: Antonio Meliande
Editing: Eder Mazini
Producers: Adone Fragano, José Augusto Pereira de Queiroz
Cast: Carla Camurati, Cristina Mutarelli, Tânia Alves, Regina Casé, Neide Santos
Outrageous comedy lives side-by-side with the addiction drama. But the viewer forgets this amongst the ridiculous and ribald series of jokes and situations that make up the world of the characters. And yet the romantic impulse behind Bionico's quest is hard to shake off even if it appears to be set in a world of squalor and pain. Regardless, each day brings a new opportunity, to make something of yourself, to show the world who you are, or to do drugs all day. The mockumentary format makes these contradictions even more explicit. - Jhon Hernandez
