
Acting
Norma Bengell
Born — Died
1935-09-21 — 2013-10-09
Place of birth
Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Known for
Acting
Credits
78 titles
Norma Aparecida Almeida Pinto Guimarães d'Áurea Bengell (Rio de Janeiro, February 21, 1935 – Rio de Janeiro, October 9, 2013) was a Brazilian actress, filmmaker, producer, singer and songwriter. Considered one of the greatest muses of Brazilian cinema and theater in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Norma began her career in the early 1950s, being launched into the artistic world through revue theater by producer Carlos Machado. She acted in 64 films during her career, several of them in Europe.
Known for
7.7A successful businesswoman in the music industry sees her life fall apart after a young and mysterious woman starts work as her secretary. The scheming girl is totally obsessed by the famous businesswoman and she tries to steal everything from her, including her career.
Celebrity
2003
7.0No synopsis available yet.
Os Imigrantes
1981
6.2Diana, the Angel of Death, assigns an Emissary to retrieve Isabela from Earth. Upon meeting her, however, he becomes enchanted by the young woman and hesitates to take her.
O Sexo dos Anjos
1989
8.5No synopsis available yet.
Partido Alto
1984
8.0Brazilian comedy about two couples living next to each other in the same building. This show explores the antics between the two couples.
Toma Lá, Dá Cá
2007
NRFour teenagers, each facing a major conflict. Majô, the daughter of separated parents, has fallen in love with her mother Raquel’s husband, the teacher Túlio. Caíto, who is gay, lives in a dysfunctional home where his parents' marriage—Dirceu and Marilu’s—is going from bad to worse. Doca is a drug addict, and his sister Bia has become pregnant by her boyfriend, Michel. Their parents, Odilon and Paula, are deeply unhappy as well. Interwoven with their stories is that of Túlio—a former addict turned upstanding teacher—who encounters a haunting figure from his past: his ex-sister-in-law, Fernanda.
The Teenagers
1981
Film credits
2000s · 5 titles
7.7A Brazilian theatre group that through talent, irony and humour confronted the Brazilian violent dictatorship in the 1970s revolutionising the gay movement worldwide and changing theatre and dance language to an entire generation.
Dzi Croquettes
2009
7.5Documentary about the birth of bossa-nova, in Brazil, and the major stars of this musical style.
Coisa Mais Linda - Histórias e Casos da Bossa Nova
2005
10.0No synopsis available yet.
Banquete
2002
6.3Documentary about Brazilian filmmaker Glauber Rocha, one of the most important names in the Cinema Novo, with interviews with some of his friends and colleagues.
Glauber Rocha - The Movie, Brazil's Labyrinth
2003
NRA documentary that chronologically traces the presence of women in Brazilian cinema.
As Mulheres no Cinema Brasileiro
2008
1990s · 2 titles
NR"Portraits and excerpts from Brazilian films from all times. Actors, directors and images that affirm cinema."
Celebração - 100 Anos do Cinema Nacional
1997
4.9In Vitória, the middle-age piano teacher Gertrudes sublets her apartment to two younger women, the unstable Lúcia and the nurse Madalena. Gertrudes misses and daydreams her former love and has a motherhood relationship with Lúcia; Madalena has a promiscuous life, having one night stand with the most different men every day and her behavior is criticized by Gertreudes; and Lúcia is dreamer that manipulates Gertrudes and expects that the handyman Alfredo becomes her prince charming. Their conflictive relationship ends when Madalena discloses their inner feelings and secrets to each other.
Vagas para Moças de Fino Trato
1993
1980s · 13 titles
4.8A man explores the process of formation of sexuality and is looking for a woman that does not exist.
Eros, the God of Love
1981
6.0Drawing inspiration from a poem penned by Castro Alves, this film vividly captures the political, cultural, and intellectual climate of Brazil during the late 1970s. At its core, the story revolves around four distinctive embodiments of Christ's image: a black man, a soldier, an Indian, and a guerrilla fighter. These courageous individuals, hailed as the harbingers of doom in the tupiniquim lands, valiantly combat the insatiable avarice and oppressive "civilizing" brutality propagated by the formidable John Brahms—a foreign exploiter devoid of morals.
The Age of the Earth
1980
5.6A rock singer goes to Brazil to shoot a video, but winds up getting kidnapped and enduring a number of seemingly bizarre and hilarious events.
Running Out of Luck
1987
6.4Our planet was contaminated by many nuclear explosions that left the soil and the air filled with radiation, and now the few survivors of those catastrophic events live under the ground on a shelter controlled by scientists. After an incident inside the shelter, a group of rebellious scientists defy their leadership when they find a good possibility of returning to the surface.
Nuclear Shelter
1981
10.0No synopsis available yet.
O Filho Adotivo
1984
5.5A public relations man is invited to guide an American millionaire during his stay in Rio de Janeiro. He gets involved in the most bizarre situations, from orgiastic mega-parties to confrontations with the police, meetings with drug dealers and movie stars, facing corruption and even murder.
Rio Babilonia
1982
9.0No synopsis available yet.
Tensão no Rio
1984
6.5The fictional encounter in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (in the 30s) between popular songwriter Lamartine Babo and inconoclast poet and playwright Oswald de Andrade.
Tabu
1983
7.2Eternamente Pagu is a biographical film about Patrícia Galvão, best known as Pagu, a Brazilian political, literary and artistic activist. An important figure of the Brazilian Modernism, Pagu was also a militant for the Brazilian Communist Party after she married writer Oswald de Andrade. She broke up with Andrade and, as a journalist was arrested by the Dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas. After she left prison, she abandoned Communism in favor of Trotskyist Socialism, married Geraldo Ferraz, and started a career as theatre director.
Eternamente Pagu
1987
NRNo synopsis available yet.
No Tempo de Glauber
1987
6.0A poor woman is visited by the fairy godmother who turns her into a brilliant movie and TV star.
The Femme Fatale Meets the Ideal Man
1987
4.2No synopsis available yet.
Fonte da Saudade
1987
6.1Teenager and his Chilean parents live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in exile, after his brother is killed by the military government in Chile. Years later, still haunted by the past, he undergoes a crisis when he learns his cousin had been arrested in Santiago, and quarrels with his family when he decides to know his country and the details of his past.
The Colour of His Destiny
1987
1970s · 18 titles
6.0In the 1930s, in the South of State of Bahia, Brazil, an adventurer with no name or history, who has already been shot seven times, gets involved in the battle for land and cacao plantations. His plan is to take the place of "Colonel" Santana, taking his wife and money. He starts a bloody conflict, in which many simple people and landowners die.
Of Gods and the Undead
1970
7.0Four thieves enter a house and terrorize a family.
Paranóia
1976
7.0The loving adventures of a priest disillusioned with religion and life.
As Confissões de Frei Abóbora
1971
4.6A black fisherman now working at a local gas station, Antônio lives at the small beach town of Atafona. His biggest ambition is to stash enough money to leave to a big city with his fiancee, a mix-raced girl who sells fresh crabs to locals and wishes for a better life. When a rich white woman from the high society arrives to spend a few days away after ending a failed marriage, Antônio soon bonds with her and begins to change his plans.
Na Boca do Mundo
1979
5.9When a woman is accused of murder, the investigation slowly reveals numerous political connections. Laubret, the court-appointed defense lawyer, does everything in his power to expose the truth.
Défense de savoir
1973
4.6OSS 177 goes on holiday to Brazil, but is called into action when he finds himself being stalked by a double.
OSS 117 Takes a Vacation
1970
6.5No synopsis available yet.
Paixão na Praia
1971
8.1No synopsis available yet.
Assim Era a Atlântida
1975
5.8Bárbara, a French girl living in São Paulo, and two friends transform a small apartment into a luxury bordello, "The Palace of Angels", at first securing money and success, but...
The Palace of Angels
1970
10.0Successful manager is haunted by a sinister character who enters his dreams, Dr. Moura Brasil.
O Capitão Bandeira Contra o Dr. Moura Brasil
1971
6.0A colorful feature film that mixes exile with the figure of the poet Rimbaud and the feminist revolution. "It's super-intellectual. A fable-musical-philosophical-chanchada", Mautner says. He also affirms that the work focuses a lot on the longing for Brazil, on the will that the exiled had to return to their homeland. The idea came from conversations between the musician and his old father, "always talking about the pre-Socratics", he recalls. Glauber Rocha states that "The Demiurge" is the best film "of" and "about" exile.
The Demiurge
1972
10.0Documentary on famous Brazilian actresses, female directors and the role of women in Brazilian film history.
Mulheres de Cinema
1978
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Cinéma 16 Une vieille maîtresse
1975
NRThe artistic career and daily life of actress Maria Gladys.
Maria Gladys, Uma Atriz Brasileira
1979
6.4Six people find a mysterious mark in the center of their left hand and all independently go to Easter Island in hopes to uncover the mystery.
The Suns of Easter Island
1972
4.9Nina, a typical woman of the big city, marries a powerful farmer and goes to live in the countryside of Minas Gerais. There, however, she is faced with a decomposing, decadent family who seems to dislike her.
The Murdered House
1971
7.3A woman runs away in the company of her daughter, the ultimate brat, in a journey full of bizarre events.
Sea of Roses
1977
NRAugust 29, 1979, Talavera Bruce Penal Institute, Bangu, Rio de Janeiro. After serving eight years in prison, Inês Etienne Romeu, the only survivor of the "House of Death" in Petrópolis and the first political prisoner sentenced to life in prison in Brazil, left prison benefiting from Amnesty. Norma Bengell filmed this moment: from the prison door to her home with her family, Inês was welcomed by family, friends and members of the Brazilian Amnesty Committee, in what marked the first act of the historic denunciation that Inês would carry out against her tormentors and the Military Regime.
Freedom of Inês Etienne Romeu
1979
1960s · 20 titles
8.1Zé is a very poor man whose most prized possession is his donkey. When his donkey falls terminally ill, Zé makes a promise to Saint Bárbara: If his donkey recovers, he will carry a cross - like Jesus - all the way from his city to Saint Bárbara's church, in the state capital. Upon the recovery of his donkey, Zé leaves on his journey. He makes it to the church, but the priest refuses to accept the cross once he discovers the context of Zé's promise.
The Given Word
1962
6.4After landing on a mysterious planet, a team of astronauts begin to turn on each other, swayed by the uncertain influence of the planet and its strange inhabitants.
Planet of the Vampires
1965
7.6When a good-natured factory supervisor living in Milan with his Northern wife returns to his native Sicily, a decades' old oath forces him to fulfill a nightmarish obligation.
Mafioso
1962
6.5A Southern Colonel, his three sons, and a card shark embark on an odyssey through the Southwest carrying a coffin full of stolen money with which the Colonel plans to revive the Confederacy.
The Hellbenders
1967
6.9Two friends take two prostitutes for a night of pleasure. But the night turns out to be frustrating for all involved, as much bitterness is revealed in their conversation and attitudes, uncovering their anguish and deeper feelings, and the emptiness of their lives.
Men and Women
1964
6.0Giulio and Armando, both married, attempt an escape from their respective married lives, invent a secret mission and leaves for the south.
The Ballad of Husbands
1963
7.0A volatile young man, Edu is a typical Rio de Janeiro middle-class kind, who flirts with multiple women at the same time. None of them, however, had managed to make him fall in love, until he met with mysterious Tatiana.
Edu, Coração de Ouro
1968
7.5Don Ramon, a wealthy patron, receives his son back after he has sent him away to medical school, only to have him fall in love with his new young wife.
I Do Not Forgive... I Kill!
1968
10.0An engaged couple discovers the corpse of a woman killed by strangulation in the Santo Amaro dam. Inspector Castro and his assistant, Pedro, start the investigation, collecting testimonies, and find a phone number with the name Conceição in the victim's pocket.
Conceição
1960
7.0Directed by Sérgio Bernardes Filho, "Desesperato" tells the story of a writer (Raul Cortez) who leaves his home to carry out literary research in the country's most obscure settings. Unhappy with the current national situation, the historian joins a guerrilla force with serious consequences.
Desesperato
1968
7.2A middle-aged man builds a summer house in Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro. Married to a beautiful woman, father of two and with a successful career, the house is a symbol of his personal achievements. But as the wind, the salt and the sand threaten to invade the breaches of the house, their marriage begins to crumble. And, like a bad omen, a mysterious murder takes place in the vicinity.
Before, the Summer
1968
8.0A scientist discovers a breakthrough formula for harnessing nuclear energy and becomes the target for numerous secret agents around the world.
A Espiã que Entrou em Fria
1967
5.7In the figure of Ettore Zambrini, a small industrialist with a dream of opening a factory overlooking the Autostrada del Sole, Montaldo offers us an effective narrative transposition of the 'animal spirits' that governed the economic boom in Italy at the time. He is a character of contradictory humanity: capable of handling business, overdue bills, trade union relations, marital betrayal, but also the passion that binds him to his wife with equal unscrupulousness.
The Reckless
1965
10.0The nature of love and marriage is studied in two episodes.
Violence and Love
1965
6.5No synopsis available yet.
The Captain from Toledo
1965
6.3Florence, early 1960s. Bruno aspires to be hired at a prestigious factory, but his Communist ideals — instilled by Millo, a father figure and family friend in love with Bruno's widowed mother Ivana — are an obstacle. His relationship with Lori, a beautiful and tormented young woman who has just returned from Milan, reshapes his convictions. Freely adapted from a minor novel by Vasco Pratolini.
The Constancy of Reason
1964
NRNo synopsis available yet.
O Último Homem
1969
6.8Santamaria and Urtigo are two bandits on the run, one is white, the other black. Santamaria is a mystical visionary and believes in the imminent coming of a purifying angel. Urtiga, his inseparable companion, is a simple-minded and ingenious man who follows Santamaria around and participates in the crimes he commits. The two bandits take over a house after kidnapping its owner and his girlfriend.
The Angel Was Born
1969
5.0Two surreal/satirical comedy episodes.
I cuori infranti
1963
6.2Upon learning that his rich dad is on the brink of bankruptcy, spoiled Vavá summons his friend Jandir with a plan to get some quick cash: they will blackmail an uncle of Vavá by taking compromising photos of his lover, Leda.
The Unscrupulous Ones
1962
Series credits
7.7A successful businesswoman in the music industry sees her life fall apart after a young and mysterious woman starts work as her secretary. The scheming girl is totally obsessed by the famous businesswoman and she tries to steal everything from her, including her career.
Celebrity
2003
7.0No synopsis available yet.
Os Imigrantes
1981
6.2Diana, the Angel of Death, assigns an Emissary to retrieve Isabela from Earth. Upon meeting her, however, he becomes enchanted by the young woman and hesitates to take her.
O Sexo dos Anjos
1989
8.5No synopsis available yet.
Partido Alto
1984
8.0Brazilian comedy about two couples living next to each other in the same building. This show explores the antics between the two couples.
Toma Lá, Dá Cá
2007
NRFour teenagers, each facing a major conflict. Majô, the daughter of separated parents, has fallen in love with her mother Raquel’s husband, the teacher Túlio. Caíto, who is gay, lives in a dysfunctional home where his parents' marriage—Dirceu and Marilu’s—is going from bad to worse. Doca is a drug addict, and his sister Bia has become pregnant by her boyfriend, Michel. Their parents, Odilon and Paula, are deeply unhappy as well. Interwoven with their stories is that of Túlio—a former addict turned upstanding teacher—who encounters a haunting figure from his past: his ex-sister-in-law, Fernanda.
The Teenagers
1981
10.0No synopsis available yet.
A Sombra de Rebecca
1967
9.5Nara Leão revolutionized Brazilian music, broke prejudices, confronted the military dictatorship, opened paths for women. All this without changing the tone of her voice.
O Canto Livre de Nara Leão
2022
8.0The main axis of the miniseries is the story of the couple Mendonça and Maria Rita. The plot begins when Mendonça, a Physics teacher, turns 40. Discouraged with life and dissatisfied with his work, he complains about the routine and lack of prospects. His big dream was to do a postgraduate degree outside of Brazil, but he ended up not taking the project forward and suffers because of it to this day. He also doesn't feel happy in his romantic relationship, having settled into a marriage that has lasted several years. Maria Rita, in turn, is a journalist and is on the rise professionally. In his personal life, he knows that his marriage is not going well and he suffers from his partner's discouragement, but he ends up having a great idea thanks to this crisis: creating an interview program on the station where he works.
Parabéns pra Você
1983
Behind the camera
5.3The forbidden love affair between Peri, an Indian, and the beautiful Ceci, a Portuguese white girl, in the 17th century Brazil.
O Guarani
1996
7.2Eternamente Pagu is a biographical film about Patrícia Galvão, best known as Pagu, a Brazilian political, literary and artistic activist. An important figure of the Brazilian Modernism, Pagu was also a militant for the Brazilian Communist Party after she married writer Oswald de Andrade. She broke up with Andrade and, as a journalist was arrested by the Dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas. After she left prison, she abandoned Communism in favor of Trotskyist Socialism, married Geraldo Ferraz, and started a career as theatre director.
Eternamente Pagu
1987
7.2Eternamente Pagu is a biographical film about Patrícia Galvão, best known as Pagu, a Brazilian political, literary and artistic activist. An important figure of the Brazilian Modernism, Pagu was also a militant for the Brazilian Communist Party after she married writer Oswald de Andrade. She broke up with Andrade and, as a journalist was arrested by the Dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas. After she left prison, she abandoned Communism in favor of Trotskyist Socialism, married Geraldo Ferraz, and started a career as theatre director.
Eternamente Pagu
1987
NRThe artistic career and daily life of actress Maria Gladys.
Maria Gladys, Uma Atriz Brasileira
1979
NRThe artistic career and daily life of actress Maria Gladys.
Maria Gladys, Uma Atriz Brasileira
1979
NRAugust 29, 1979, Talavera Bruce Penal Institute, Bangu, Rio de Janeiro. After serving eight years in prison, Inês Etienne Romeu, the only survivor of the "House of Death" in Petrópolis and the first political prisoner sentenced to life in prison in Brazil, left prison benefiting from Amnesty. Norma Bengell filmed this moment: from the prison door to her home with her family, Inês was welcomed by family, friends and members of the Brazilian Amnesty Committee, in what marked the first act of the historic denunciation that Inês would carry out against her tormentors and the Military Regime.
Freedom of Inês Etienne Romeu
1979
7.5Man tries to decipher a manuscript about an ancient civilization and gets involved in strange situations. In fact, the plot is just an excuse to tackle the subjects of mysticism and human condition.
The Abyss
1977
Documentary about the life and times of Brazilian great pianist Guiomar Novaes.
Infinitivamente Guiomar Novaes
2003
No synopsis available yet.
J. Carlos - O Cronista do Rio
2015


