Eight is Enough in Brazil's Me You Them

ME YOU THEM / Eu Tu Eles
(Andrucha Waddington, 2000, Brazil, 104 mins)

This is a lightly revised version of a review originally written when the film was first released on home video. 

Me You Them (Eu Tu Eles in Portuguese) may sound hokey, but it feels authentic thanks to a non-judgmental screenplay, naturalistic acting, and Emerging Master Andrucha Waddington's patient direction. Little surprise then that this tale of a woman who ends up with three husbands and four sons--each by a different father--is based on a true story. 

Darlene (Regina Casé, Moon Over Parador) has already had a child out of wedlock when she meets middle-aged homeowner Osias (Lima Duarte), who offers to marry her. Her mother has just passed away, and she has nowhere to go, so she agrees. Unfortunately, he turns out to be Brazil's laziest human being. Darlene does all the work, and has none of the fun...until she meets his sweet cousin, Zezinho (Stênio Garcia), who moves in with them. Then she meets the handsome Ciro (Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos).

Waddington doesn't play any of this for laughs. There are moments of gentle humor, but Me You Them, which won the Un Certain Regard Award at Cannes and several Brazilian Academy Awards, including Best Picture, is a serious-minded film that always treats its characters with respect. 

If it had been made in the States, it's hard to imagine the concept would work as well--if at all--but here the polyandrous arrangement is neither idealized nor demonized. 

Waddington simply shows how this unconventional family came into being. Brazilian legend Gilberto Gil, of Getz/Gilberto fame, the recording that introduced the bossa nova to the world, provides the lovely score.

Pacific Place: 6/17 at 11am.

Mais Brasilia:
Black Orpheus (Marcel Camus, 1959) plays the Neptune on June 6 at 7:15pm, Lower City (Sergio Machado) plays the Harvard Exit on June 8 at 9pm and June 13 at 4pm, and House of Sand (Waddington's latest) plays Pacific Place on June 16 at 7pm and June 17 at 1:15pm. Also, Seu Jorge (City of God, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, House of Sand) plays Neumo's on June 22. That's the favela king above, with cat. See you there!

Images from the IMDb (Regina Casé, Lima Duarte, Stênio Garcia, and Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos) and Apple Music (Seu Jorge's 2002 debut Carolina).