| The Lion Has Seven Heads | |
|---|---|
 German poster | |
| Directed by | Glauber Rocha |
| Written by | Glauber Rocha Gianni Amico |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Guido Cosulich |
| Edited by | Eduardo Escorel Glauber Rocha |
| Music by | Baden Powell |
| Production companies | Polifilm Claude Antoine Filmes Mapa Filmes |
| Distributed by | Animatógrafo |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 103 minutes |
| Countries | France Italy Brazil |
| Language | Portuguese |
The Lion Has Seven Heads (original title:Der Leone Have Sept Cabeças) is a 1970 French-Italian-Brazilian film directed by Glauber Rocha. It was shot on location in Brazzaville, the Congo during the time Rocha was exiled.
Plot
In the late 1960s, a white preacher in Africa announces the world is due to end soon as he has captured an emissary of the devil. Rather than an emissary, the man is a Latin American revolutionary who supports the local liberation movement. The man escapes from the preacher and contacts a local liberation leader and offers him assistance in the local's fight against Imperialism.
Cast
- Rada Rassimov as Marlene
- Giulio Brogi as Pablo
- Gabriele Tinti as American Agent
- Jean-Pierre Léaud as Preacher
- Reinhard Kolldehoff as Governor
- Aldo Bixio as Mercenary
- Baiack as Zumbi
- Hugo Carvana as Portuguese
- Pascal N'Zonzi
Reception
Film critic Peter Bradshaw, in his 2023 review for The Guardian, rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, characterizing it as "an avant-gardist adventure that offers us a theatre of absurdity and a theatre of cruelty of an obviously Godardian sort." He compares Rocha's cinematic style to that of Jean-Luc Godard, noting Rocha's adeptness with composition and camera movement. Bradshaw critiques the film's portrayal of colonial themes, mentioning its use of the character Marlene as a symbol of colonial desire and the representation of Congolese locals, stating, "The use of the local people in this film is something else that jars a little now in its not-so-subtle condescension." Despite its flaws, he acknowledges the film's historical significance, noting its engagement with revolutionary ideas: "The Lion Has Seven Heads has its own fierce, mad conviction, a bad dream being reconstructed by actors after the event – and the film itself has historical value."
References
- Mendonça, Luís (2012-09-13). "Der Leone Have Sept Cabeças (1970) de Glauber Rocha" (in Portuguese). Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- "O Leão de Sete Cabeças" (in Portuguese). Cinemateca Brasileira. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
- Bradshaw, Peter (2023-02-20). "The Lion Has Seven Heads review – a fierce revolutionary leftist bad dream from 1970". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
External links
| Films directed by Glauber Rocha | |
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