ABSTRACT
X Starring Zeze Motta in the title role, Xica da Silva is a dynamic and colourful celebration of a littleknown historical figure. This homage to the creative spontaneity of the Brazilian people was made at a political moment, 1976, when the military still seemed entrenched in power. Wellreceived by popular or journalistic critics in Brazil, this sixth feature film by Cinema Novo veteran Carlos Diegues was seen by over three million people in the first two and a half months after release. Set in eighteenth-century Minas Gerais, the film deals with the rise to power, frequently extravagant behaviour and ultimate fall of Francisca (Xica) da Silva, a slave who became the lover of the most powerful man in the colonial province. As the object of desire of the most important men in the region, her ascent derives from her awareness of the value placed on her body by those in power. Xica’s festive attacks on the ruling class’s solemnity comically unmask social hierar chies.
