Capitu

Capitu
Genre	Mini-Series
Based on	Dom Casmurro, by Machado de Assis
Developed by	Luiz Fernando Carvalho
Written by	Euclydes Marinho Luiz Fernando Carvalho Daniel Piza Luis Alberto de Abreu Edna Palatnik
Directed by	Luiz Fernando Carvalho
Starring	Maria Fernanda Cândido Michel Melamed Eliane Giardini Letícia Persiles
Opening theme	"Elephant Gun" by Beirut
Country of origin	Brazil
Original language	Portuguese
No. of episodes	5
Production
Editors	Helena Chaves Carlos Eduardo Kerr Márcio Hashimoto Soares
Production company	Estúdios Globo
Original release
Network	Rede Globo
Release	9 December (2008-12-09) – 13 December 2008 (2008-12-13)
Related
Queridos Amigos Maysa: Quando Fala o Coração

Capitu is a Brazilian television series written by Euclydes Marinho, directed by Luiz Fernando Carvalho, who also finalized the script, and presented by Rede Globo between 8 and 13 December 2008. The production was a homage to the centennial anniversary of the death of Machado de Assis, author of the 1899 novel Dom Casmurro, on which the miniseries was based. Capitu is the main female character of that novel, and is the object of Bentinho's (Dom Casmurro) obsession. The novel forces the reader to decide if Capitu cheated or not on Bentinho.

Production

The mini-series was written by Euclydes Marinho in collaboration with Daniel Piza, Luis Alberto de Abreu and Edna Palatnik, and has the script finalized by Luiz Fernando Carvalho. Art direction by Raimundo Rodriguez, photography by Adrian Teijido and costumes by Beth Filipecki. Colorist Sergio Pasqualino. It marked the TV debut of actors Letícia Persiles and Michel Melamed, among others. The mini-series was filmed in the abandoned Automóvel Clube building, in downtown Rio de Janeiro, and the whole scenographic universe was created from newspaper and recycled material. The opening credits scene was conceived by the director and created by the designer Carlos Bêla. The production is part of the Quadrante Project and was the director's tribute to Machado de Assis on the centenary of his death.

Cast

Actor/Actress	Character
Maria Fernanda Cândido	Capitu (Capitolina Pádua)
Michel Melamed	Bentinho (Bento de Albuquerque Santiago)
Eliane Giardini	Dona Glória
Letícia Persiles	Capitu (young)
César Cardadeiro	Bentinho (young)
Pierre Baitelli	Ezequiel de Sousa Escobar (1st episode)
Rita Elmôr	Cousin Justina
Sandro Christopher	Uncle Cosme/Marcolini/Imperator
Charles Fricks	Sr. Pádua
Bellatrix Serra	Sancha Gurgel
Izabella Bicalho	Dona Fortunata Pádua
Antônio Karnewale	José Dias
Thelmo Fernandes	Sr. Gurgel
Emílio Pitta	Priest Cabral
Vitor Facchinetti	Dandi do Cavalo-Alazão
Alan Scarpari	Ezequiel Santiago
Jacy Marques	Slave
Gabriela Luiz	Slave

The Children

Actor/Actress	Character
Beatriz Souza	Capitolina
Fabrício Reis	Ezequiel Santiago (child)

Special guests

Ator	Personagem
Paulo José	Parish's Vicar
Eduardo Pires	Young poet
Alby Ramos	Manduca's father

Reception

Critical response

In the opinion of critic Gustavo Bernardo, the mini-series deserves "to be viewed and reviewed countless times, at least because each fragment of a scene is precious for its beauty". According to theatre director Gabriel Villela, Luiz Fernando Carvalho produces works of art on the screen, calls on the viewer's vivacity so that he accepts nothing masticated, but masticates along with Casmurro. For Randall Johnson, director of the UCLA Latin American Institute, "Luiz Fernando Carvalho is today, without doubt, the director whose work is the most authorial of all TV and cinema production in Brazil".

Accolades

It received the APCA (Associação Paulista de Críticos de Arte) Critic's Choice Award (2009), ABC Best Photography Award (from the Associação Brasileira de Cinematografia) and the Creative Review award in the Best in Book and Design and Art Director categories.

Bibliography

• Carter, Eli Lee "Rereading Dom Casmurro - aesthetic hybridity in Capitu", University of Virginia, 2014.

External links

• Luiz Fernando Carvalho - Official website (in Portuguese)
• Capitu on Memoria Globo Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• Capitu at IMDb