Mulher (1931) is a weird, pretty, and very slow Brazilian melodrama

Should you watch it?

Honestly, you should watch this if you have a soft spot for grainy, old Brazilian dramas that feel like they’re trying really hard to be 'modern' for 1931. It’s a total vibe if you like silent-era aesthetics mixed with early sound-era awkwardness. If you hate slow stories where people stare into the distance for three minutes while nothing happens, you will probably hate this one. 😴

The movie starts in a shantytown in Rio. It’s loud, even though the movie is mostly quiet. You can see the dust. Carmen, the main character, is played by Carmem Violeta and she has this face that just looks like she's already seen the end of the world. Every guy in her neighborhood is basically a creep, including her stepfather. It’s uncomfortable to watch, which I guess is the point.

She has this boyfriend, Milton. He seems okay at first? But then you find out he’s already married. Of course he is. This movie really leans into the 'life is unfair' trope. It reminds me a bit of the struggles you see in Rouged Lips, where a girl is just trying to catch a break but the world says no.

The lighting is the real star here.

There’s a scene in the boarding house where the shadows are so long they practically become characters. The director, Octavio Gabus Mendes, clearly spent a lot of time looking at European films. Some shots of the shantytown look more like a dream than a real place. It’s beautiful in a way that feels accidental sometimes.

Eventually, Carmen just gives up. She’s starving. She’s tired. She passes out right in the middle of the street. It’s very dramatic. A random guy picks her up and just... drops her off at a writer’s house? Flávio Martins. I wish I could just pass out and wake up in a nice house with a writer who wants to help me. 🏠

The Middle Bit Slumps

• The writer, Flávio, is kind of a wet blanket.
• He has this 'old flame' and an arranged marriage thing going on.
• Carmen is just there, being a guest and looking sad.
• The pacing drops off a cliff once she gets to the big house.

There is this one reaction shot of Flávio looking at Carmen that lingers for so long. I thought my screen had frozen. But no, he’s just really thinking about his life choices. It becomes almost funny if you watch it long enough.

I found myself wondering about the extras in the background of the street scenes. They look so much more interesting than the main cast sometimes. You see real people from 1930s Rio just wandering by. It feels like a time capsule that accidentally caught some real life in the corners of the frame.

It’s a bit like Soft Shoes in the way it tries to blend a gritty reality with a more polished 'movie' story. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it feels like two different movies fighting each other.

The whole conflict with the arranged marriage is so boring compared to Carmen’s life in the shantytown. I didn't really care who Flávio ended up with. I just wanted Carmen to get a sandwich and maybe a better boyfriend. Milton was the worst. 🚩

A few things I noticed:

The way the camera moves is actually pretty advanced for Brazil at the time. It doesn't just sit there. It creeps around the rooms.

The sound is... well, it's 1931. It’s scratchy. It’s a bit wonky. But it adds to the feeling that you’re watching something that shouldn't have survived this long.

One scene has Carmen looking out a window and the wind is blowing her hair just right. It’s a perfect shot. Then the next scene is a clunky dialogue bit that feels like a middle school play. The burstiness of the quality is wild.

I think the movie gets noticeably better when it stops trying to be a 'serious romance' and just lets Carmen be sad in pretty rooms. The writer’s house is full of these weird little decorations that I kept staring at instead of listening to the plot.

Is it a masterpiece? Probably not. It’s a bit too messy and the ending feels like they ran out of film or ideas. But it’s got a soul. You can tell they really wanted to make something that looked like the big movies from Hollywood or France.

If you’re bored on a Sunday and want to feel like a sophisticated person who watches 'world cinema,' give it a go. Just have some coffee ready because it’s a slow burn. A very, very slow burn.

The stepfather character still makes my skin crawl. That actor did a good job of being a total jerk without even saying much. 🐍

Anyway, Mulher is a weird little piece of history. It's not perfect. The grammary of the film language is a bit broken in places. But I’m glad I watched it, even if I checked my watch three times during the second act.