Jubiabá is a 1986 Brazilian‑French romantic drama film directed by Nelson Pereira dos Santos. The screenplay was adapted from the novel Jubiabá by Brazilian author Jorge Amado. The film was a co‑production between Brazil’s Regina Filmes and France’s Société Française de Production, and it was distributed in Brazil by Embrafilme.
Production details
- Director: Nelson Pereira dos Santos
- Screenwriters: Jorge Amado (original novel), Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Henry Raillard, Ney Sant'Anna
- Producers: Tininho Fonseca, Roberto Petti, Chico Drumond, Walter Schilke, José Oliosi
- Cinematography: José Medeiros
- Music: Gilberto Gil
- Runtime: 100 minutes
- Country of origin: Brazil, France
- Language: Portuguese
Cast
- Charles Baiano as Antônio Balduíno (Baldo)
- Françoise Goussard as Lindinalva
- Grande Otelo as Jubiabá (the pai‑de‑santo)
- Raymond Pellegrin as the commendator Ferreira
- Additional cast includes Luiz Santana, Tatiana Issa, Zezé Motta, Julien Guiomar, Catherine Rouvel, Betty Faria, Ruth de Souza, among others.
Plot summary
The narrative follows the black orphan Antônio Balduíno, who is taken in by the wealthy Portuguese‑Brazilian landowner commendator Ferreira. Balduíno falls in love with Ferreira’s daughter, Lindinalva, a white heiress. Their interracial romance provokes social tension, leading to Balduíno’s expulsion from the Ferreira household. He becomes a celebrated “malandro” (street hustler) in the streets of Salvador, Bahia. Despite their separation, Balduíno’s love for Lindinalva endures and receives spiritual support from Jubiabá, a candomblé priest who serves as a mentor and protector.
Release and reception
Jubiabá premiered at the London Film Festival in 1986 and was released in Brazil on 17 September 1987. The film is noted for its exploration of racial and class dynamics in mid‑20th‑century Brazil, as well as for its faithful adaptation of Amado’s novel. It has been referenced in scholarly works on Brazilian cinema and in retrospectives of Nelson Pereira dos Santos’s oeuvre.