Below you’ll find 160 Brazilian films that have helped me better understand Brazil. My favorites have a plus sign (and a few, a minus sign). Some films may include multiple categories but I tried to make it as simple as possible.

I need to add more synopses for the remaining films.

Action/Adventure

Besouro (2009, João Daniel Tikhomiroff)
Based on the life of a legendary capoeira fighter from Bahia, “Besouro” spins a tale of a young Brazilian man of African descent in search of his mission.

Action/Comedy

O Homem Do Ano (2003, José Henrique Fonseca)
Maiquel has lost a bet and the little event triggers a head-on collision with destiny in which Maiquel goes from nobody to hero to outlaw–all in 24 hours.

Action/Drama

O Cangaceiro (1953, Lima Barreto)
Brazilian movie about a famous Cangaceiro (bandit) Teodoro who falls in love with a small town school teacher who his gang has kidnapped.

O Que é Isso, Companheiro? (1997, Bruno Barreto)
Fernando and his friend César join terrorist group MR8 and kidnap the American ambassador in Brazil. True story.

Netto Perde Sua Alma (2001, Tabajara Ruas, Beto Souza)
The story of general Antônio de Souza Netto, officer who took part in two great Brazilian battles, in the 19th Century: the Farroupilha Revolution and the Paraguai War.

Tropa de Elite (2007, José Padilha)
Captain Nascimento has to find a substitute for his occupation while trying to take down drug dealers and criminals before the Pope comes to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Tropa de Elite 2 (2010, José Padilha)
After a disastrous special forces operation on a prison riot, a maturing Lt Col. Nascimento gets caught in a bloody political dispute that involves not only the Public Safety Department, the State governor and State Military Police, but also paramilitary groups .

Adventure/Comedy

O Auto da Compadecida (2002, Guel Arraes)
The lively João Grilo and the sly Chicó are poor guys living in the hinterland who cheat a bunch of people in a small Northeast Brazil town.

Deus é Brasileiro – (2003, Carlos Diegues)
God is getting tired. So he looks for a saint to take his place for a while.

Meu Tio Matou Um Cara (2004, Jorge Furtado)
A boy tries to help his uncle, guilty of a murder case, to prove his innocence. He thinks the uncle has confessed the crime as a cover-up for his girlfriend, who was the wife of the dead man.

Biography

Cazuza – O Tempo Não Pára (2004, Walter Carvalho, Sandra Werneck)
The life and times of Cazuza, Brazilian singer/poet, from his start with rock group “Barão Vermelho”, to his death from Aids, in 1990.

Chico Xavier + (2010, Daniel Filho)
A biography of spiritual medium and author Francisco Candido Xavier.

Biography/Drama

Cafundó (2005, Paulo Benti, Clovis Bueno)
About the life of João de Camargo, a former black slave who, in his old age, works miracles and devotes himself to assisting others in order to attain his freedom.

Dois Filhos de Francisco + (2005, Breno Silveira)
The story of Francisco, a very simple and poor man whose dream was to see his children become country music stars, and who made all the efforts to make it happen.

Jean Charles + (2009, Henrique Goldman)
The tragic true story of Jean Charles de Menezes, the innocent Brazilian shot dead by British police in 2005 at the height of the London terrorist alerts.

Lula: O Filho do Brasil (2009, Fábio Barreto, Marcelo Santiago)
The true story of a working class boy who moves to the nation’s financial capital at a young age and becomes one the most influential politician in Brazil’s history.

Madame Satã – (2002, Karim Ainouz)
Loose portrait of João Francisco dos Santos, also known as Madame Satã, a sometime chef, transvestite, lover, father, hero and convict from Rio de Janeiro.

Olga (2004, Jayme Monjardim)
Based upon the true story of Olga Benário, the German-born wife of Brazilian communist leader Luís Carlos Prestes.

Comedy

O Cheiro do Ralo + (2006, Heitor Dhalia)
A pawn shop proprietor buys used goods from desperate locals–as much to play perverse power games as for his own livelihood, but when the perfect rump and a backed-up toilet enter his life, he loses all control.

O Diabo a Quatro (2004, Alice de Andrade)
Four people with different values and standards meet in the urban chaos of Copacabana. Rita and Waldick come from the country, and befriend two Rio de Janeiro native guys, upon arrival: a playboy surfer and a pimp.

Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos (1976, Bruno Barreto)
Dona Flor is married to Mr Wrong, but she loves him and overlooks his short comings and takes care of him. After his untimely death, she marries Mr. Right who adores and cares for her. Yet, the spark Mr. Wrong ignited within her is missing. That is until the ghost of Mr. Wrong comes back.

Os Normais (2003, José Alvarenga Jr.)
About the day when Rui and Vani first met. Vani was going to marry Sérgio, and Rui would marry Marta in the same church, following Vani’s marriage. While waiting for the ceremony, they begin to talk. Complications ensue.

Os Normais 2 (2009, José Alvarenga Jr.)
After thirteen years of engagement, the boring sex life of Rui and Vani is limited to once every other week. They decide to seek excitement with a threesome and they decide to invite Vani’s cousin Silvinha to participate late night, but an accident interrupts their game.

Saneamento Básico (2007, Jorge Furtado)
A small community of descendants of Italian immigrants in the interior of the state of Rio Grande do Sul resorts to making a video to try to solve the problems of basic sanitation that plague their village.

Comedy/Drama

Copacabana Me Engana (1968, Antonio Carlos de Fontoura)
Marquinhos is in his early 20s and lives in Copacabana with his petits bourgeois parents and older brother. He meets Irene, a 40 year-old woman and they have a love affair that is going to change his life – for a while.

Doces Poderes (1997, Lúcia Murat)
A journalist is placed upon the management of a large broadcasting company to the capital of Brazil at the time of local elections. She must now face ideological and ethical questions, brought back by a left-wing former boyfriend and her own colleagues.

Eu, Tu, Eles (2000, Andrucha Waddington)
A true story that comically depicts the relationship between an ordinary woman and her three husbands, who live in the same house in a poor and arid small village of the Brazilian northeast.

O Homem Que Copiava (2003, Jorge Furtado)
André, relatively poor, falls in love with Silvia and begins to follow her around the city. He works in a xerox place and makes a copy of a brand new 50 real bill in order to buy a dress from her store. This becomes a vice and he begins to photocopy more and more money, until it gets out of control.

Matou a Família e Foi ao Cinema (1991, Neville de Almeida)
In Rio de Janeiro, after an altercation with his father and mother, a young man named Bebeto kills his family and goes to a movie theater, where he watches four weird vignettes. The film then makes the viewer watch the vignettes.

Memórias Póstumas (2001, André Klotzel)
Free adaptation of Machado de Assis’s classic. The narrator is a rich dead man, who tells us about his life and times, making fun of both.

Orfeu Negro (1957, Marcel Camus)
A retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, set during the time of the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro.

Tieta do Agreste + (1996, Carlos Diegues)
Just when her family starts believing that she is dead, and that they can expect a rich heritage, Tieta returns from São Paulo to her native village in Bahia. Believed to be fabulously rich – and nobody knows how – she brings to the great disappointment of her family a young step-daughter and heir.

Comedy/Romance

Bossa Nova + (2001, Bruno Barreto)
A fun and light hearted film about the romantic involvements of an ensemble of diverse but interconnected characters including one relationship hatched over the Internet.

A Dona da História (2004, Daniel Filho)
About a 50 year-old woman who pictures herself when she was 20 years old and re-creates the story of her life through a game of innumerous possibilities…In the plot the present talks to the past. A young woman projects her future in a fascinating game between memories and desires.

Gabriela, Cravo e Canela + (1983, Bruno Barreto)
In 1925, Gabriela becomes cook, mistress, and then wife of Nacib, a bar owner in a small Brazilian coastal town run by the local colonels. Nacib becomes tired of Gabriela’s uneducated ways, and annuls the marriage when he finds her in bed with his friend Tonico.

Histórias de Amor Duram Apenas 90 Minutos + (2009, Paulo Halm)
In Lapa, Rio de Janeiro, the idle aspirant writer Zeca has been living with Júlia for five years. When Júlia travels to São Paulo for work, Zeca has an affair with her best friend. So begins his complicated life

Lisbela e o Prisioneiro (2003, Guel Arraes)
Leléu is a con man who travels through small Brazilian towns, scamming the people and sleeping with the townswomen. When he makes the mistake of sleeping with the wife of a hit man’s and is caught, Leléu barely gets away with his life. Quickly, he moves on to another town, where he meets and falls in love with Lisbela.

Crime/Comedy

O Xangô de Baker Street + (2001, Miguel Faria Jr.)
Rio de Janeiro, 1886. Actress Sarah Bernhardt performs at the city’s Municipal Theater, captivating the local audience enthralled by French culture. When a Stradivarius violin owned by Dom Pedro II disappears, Bernhardt invites Shelock Holmes and Dr. Watson to Brazil in order to unravel the mystery.

Crime/Drama

400 Contra 1 (2010, Caco Souza)
About the early days of the biggest criminal organization in Brazil, the “Comando Vermelho” (Red command).

Achados e Perdidos + (2005, José Joffily)
Ex-cop is involved in the death of his lover, a prostitute who works in the streets of Copacabana. Meanwhile, he is blackmailed by an old friend and gets seriously involved with another prostitute.

O Assalto ao Trem Pagador + (1962, Roberto Farias)
True events in Rio de Janeiro, in 1960, when a gang having the infamous outlaw Tião Medonho as a leader performed a sensational railroad hold-up on a train carrying a small fortune.

Carandiru (2003, Hector Babenco)
Film based on real life experiences of doctor Drauzio Varella inside dreadful State penitentiary Carandiru, in São Paulo, Brazil, while he was doing a social work of Aids prevention.

Cidade de Deus (2002, Fernando Mierelles, Kátia Lund)
Two boys growing up in a violent neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro take different paths: one becomes a photographer, the other a drug dealer.

Cidade dos Homens (2007, Paulo Morelli)
Best buddies Acerola and Laranjinha, about to turn 18, discover things about their missing fathers’ pasts which will shatter their solid friendship, in the middle of a war between rival drug gangs from Rio’s favelas.

Contra Todos (2003, Roberto Moreira)

Cronicamente Inviável (2000, Sergio Bianchi)

Meu Nome Não É Johnny (2008, Mauro Lima)

Pixote – A Lei do Mais Fraco (1981, Hector Babenco)

Última parada 174 (2008, Bruno Barreto)

Documentary

1,99 – Um Supermercado Que Vende Palavras (2003, Marcelo Masagão)

45 Anos de Propaganda na TV Brasileira (1995)

Além do Cidadão Kane (1993, Simon Hartog)

Boca do Lixo (1990, Roberto Talma)

Bombadeira (2007, Luis Carlos de Alencar)

Brasileirinho (2005, Mika Kaurismäki)

Brasil: Uma Historia Inconveniente (2000, Phil Grabsky)

Coração Vagabundo (2008, Fernando Grostein Andrade)

Criança: A Alma do Negócio (2009, Estela Renner)

Do Luto a Luta (2005, Evaldo Mocarzel)

Domésticas (2001, Fernando Mierelles, Nando Orival)

Edifício Master (2002, Eduardo Coutinho)

Estamira (2004, Marcos Prado)

Faixa de Areia (2007, Flávia Lins e Silva, Daniela Kailman)

Fala Tu (2003, Guilherme Coelho)

Falcão – Meninos do Trafico (2006, MV Bill)

Favela Bolada (2008, Leandro HBL, Wesly Pentz)

Favela Rising (2005, Matt Mochary, Jeff Zimbalist)

O Fim e o Princípio (2005, Eduardo Coutinho)

A Ilha das Flores (1989, Jorge Furtado)

Jogo de Cena (2007, Eduardo Coutinho)

Língua: Vidas em Português + (2002, Victor Lopes)

À Margem da Imagem (2003, Evaldo Mocarzel)

Manda Bala (2007, Jason Kohn)

A Negação do Brasil (2000, Joel Zito Araújo)

Mestre Bimba (2005, Luiz Fernando Goulart)

O Mistério do Samba (2008, Lula Buarque de Hollanda, Carolina Jabor)

Nelson Freire (2003, João Moreira Salles)

Nem Gravata, Nem Honra (2001, Marcelo Masagão)

Nós Que Aqui Estamos Por Vós Esperamos + (1998, Marcelo Masagão)

Olhar Estrangeiro (2006, Lúcia Murat)

Onibus 174 (2002, José Padilha, Felipe Lacerda)

Only When I Dance (2009, Beadi Finzi)

O Povo Brasileiro ++ (2000, Iza Ferraz)

Palavra (En)cantada ++ (2008, Helena Solberg)

A Pessoa É Para O Que Nasce + (2003, Roberto Berliner, Leonardo Domingues)

O Prisioneiro da Grade de Ferro (2004, Paulo Sacramento)

Pro Dia Nascer Feliz + (2006, João Jardim)

Rio de Jano (2003, Ana Azavedo, Renata Baldi)

Senna (2010, Asif Kapadia)

Só Dez Por Cento É Mentira (2009, Pedro Cezar)

A Vida Em Cana (2001, Jorge Atalla)

A Vida É Um Sopro (2007, Fabiano Maciel)

Wasteland (2010, Vik Muniz)

Drama

Abril Despedaçado (2001, Walter Salles)

Á Deriva + (2009, Heitor Dhalia)

Amarelo Manga (2002, Cláudio Assis)

Anjos do Sol (2006, Rudi Lagemann)

O Ano Em Que Meus País Sairam de Férias + (2006, Cao Hamburger)

Antes que o Mundo Acabe + (2009, Ana Luiza Azevedo)

Árido Movie – (2004, Lírio Ferreira)

O Baile Perfumado (1997, Paulo Caldas, Lírio Ferreira)

Batismo de Sangue (2006, Helvecio Ratton)

Bicho de Sete Cabeças (2001, Laís Bodanzky)

Bruna Surfistinha (2011, Marcus Baldini)

Bye Bye Brazil (1980, Carlos Diegues)

Café Com Leite (2007, Daniel Ribeiro)

O Caminho das Nuvens (2003, Vicente Amorim)

Cão Sem Dono – (2007, Beto Brant, Renato Ciasca)

A Casa de Alice (2007, Chico Teixeira)

Casa de Areia + (2005, Andrucha Waddington)

Central do Brasil (1998, Walter Salles)

Um Céu de Estrelas (1996, Tata Amaral)

O Céu de Suely (2006, Karim Ainouz)

Cidade Baixa (2005, Sérgio Machado)

Cinco Vezes Favela (1962, Miguel Borges, Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, …)

5x Favela (2010, Cacau Amaral, Cadu Barcelos, …)

Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus + (2005, Marcelo Gomes)

O Contador das Histórias + (2009, Luiz Villaça)

Deserto Feliz (2007, Paulo Caldas)

Desmundo (2002, Alain Fresnot)

Dois Perdidos Numa Noite Suja (2002, José Joffily)

O Enfermeiro (1999, Mauro Farias)

Era Uma Vez (2008, Breno Silveira)

Estômago + (2007, Marcos Jorge)

Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar – (1986, Arnaldo Jabor)

Feliz Natal (2008, Selton Mello)

A Hora da Estrela (1986, Suzana Amaral)

Inesquecível (2007, Paulo Sérgio de Almeida)

O Invasor (2002, Beto Brant)

Lavoura Arcaica ++ (2001, Luiz Fernando Carvalho)

Linha de Passe (2008, Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas)

Mauá: O Rei do Império (1999, Sergio Rezende)

Manhã Cinzenta (1969, Olney São Paulo)

Mutum (2007, Sandra Kogut)

Não Por Acaso + (2007, Phillippe Barcinski)

Narradores de Javé (2003, Eliane Caffé)

Nina (2004, Heitor Dhalia)

Nome Próprio (2007, Murilo Salles)

Nosso Lar (2010, Wagner De Assis)

Olhos Azuis (2009, José Joffily)

Otávio e as Letras (2007, Marcelo Masagão)

O Pagador de Promessas (1962, Ancelmo Duarte)

Proibido Proibir (2007, Jorge Durán)

Quanto Vale ou É Por Quilo? (2005, Sergio Bianchi)

Quase Dois Irmãos (2004, Lúcia Murat)

Querido Estranho (2002, Ricardo Pinto e Silva)

Sal de Prata (2005, Carlos Gerbase)

Tempos de Paz (2009, Daniel Filho)

Terra Vermelha (2008, Marco Bechis)

Toda Nudez Será Castigada – (1973, Arnaldo Jabor)

Uma Onda No Ar (2002, Helvecio Ratton)

A Via Láctea (2007, Lina Chamie)

Vidas Secas (1963, Nelson Pereira dos Santos)

Zuzu Angel (2006, Sergio Rezende)

Drama/Romance

Chega de Saudade (2007, Laís Bodanzky)

Terra Estrangeira (1996, Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas)

Drama/War

Gente Brava Brasileira (2000, Lúcia Murat)

Guerra de Canudos + (1997, Sérgio Rezende)

History

Carlota Joaquina (1995, Carla Camurati)

Romance

O Maior Amor do Mundo (2006, Carlos Diegues)

Side Note – I put two minus signs next to Arnaldo Jabor’s films. I really enjoy his written chronicles but just can’t get into the films he has written/directed.