Manas by Marianna Brennand takes us into turmoil in a closed Amazonian community.
The End of Girlhood
by Alexa DalbyManas
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
CAUTION: Here be spoilers
Thirteen-year-old Marcielle (Dira Paes) lives with her family (father Romolo Braga, heavily pregnant mother and many siblings) on Marajó Island in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. It’s remote and isolated, served by the barges that ply the river. On the surface, it seems like an idyllic, back-to-nature lifestyle but the family also seem poverty-stricken. Naively determined to change her destiny, Marcielle decides to unexpectedly confront the violent system that governs her family and the women of her community. It’s a highly patriarchal society where women are property: the father feeds his family by hunting animals in the rainforest with his daughters when they are old enough.
Manas is director Marianna Brennand’s first dramatic feature: she is known for documentaries. The film has extraordinary access to Amazonian communities and the rainforest environment and campaignes for women’s issues – this seems like a doomed battle when the status quo is so entrenched but maybe Marcielle has the strength to understand why.
Manas premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 2 September 2024. International representation is by Alibi.
