Três Marias, As, (The Three Marias) (2002)

40% of critics liked it
(20 reviews)
44% of users liked it
(81 ratings)

Brazilian filmmaker Aluizio Abranches, who garnered international attention with his debut feature Um Copo de Colera, directed this audacious and idiosyncratic crime thriller. When she was a young woman, Filomena Capadocio (Marieta Severo) had pledged to marry Firmino Santos Guerra (Carlos Vereza),… More Brazilian filmmaker Aluizio Abranches, who garnered international attention with his debut feature Um Copo de Colera, directed this audacious and idiosyncratic crime thriller. When she was a young woman, Filomena Capadocio (Marieta Severo) had pledged to marry Firmino Santos Guerra (Carlos Vereza), but she opted to call off the engagement and instead wed Borges Capadscio, one of his greatest enemies. An angry Santos Guerra swore to someday take vengeance against Filomena, but waited thirty years to make good on his promise, when arranged for the cold-blooded murder of Filomena's husband and two sons. Distraught, Filomena brings together her three daughters -- Maria Pia (Luiza Mariani, Maria Rosa (Maria Luisa Mendonca) and Maria Francesca (Julia Lemmertz) - and tells them of her plan to avenge these deaths of her men. Each of the sisters is given the name of a different hired killer, and each is to arrange for the death of one of the men responsible for the slayings. Maria Pia has to free Jesuino Cruz (Wagner Moura) from jail so he can perform the hit, Maria Rosa must convince a usually honest cop (Tuca Andrada) to turn to the wrong side of the law, and Maria Francesca has the assignment of tracking down the crazed Ze des Cobras (Enrique Diaz), who likes to feast on snakes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Aluisio Abranches
Written By: Wilson Freire, Heitor Dhalia
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Aug 2, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Apr 26, 2005
Studio: Empire Pictures

Critic Reviews

Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
A luridly baroque tale of violent revenge, this Brazilian-Italian entry relies heavily on atmospheric visuals to compensate for its lack of depth in both plotting and characterizations.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Abranches intends for a religious parable by way of Greek tragedy, but the film drowns in a morass of portentous signs and poetic symbols.
Bob Campbell, Newark Star-Ledger
At times, the filmmaker seems unsure of his mission. He should have had Filomena for his producer.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
Its emotional climate is too extreme to invite identification, and its characters are too single-minded in their revenge to evoke pity, terror or even much interest.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
The intent was apparently a Sergio Leone-ish black comedy, but the leaden pacing, somnambulant performances and incessant symbolism in nearly every shot will soon have you thinking that The Three Marias is three too many.
Gene Seymour, Newsday
Those who long for the termite glory of 1950s B westerns might find something to like about this tightly wound, borderline absurd oddity.
Prairie Miller, WBAI Web Radio
The good news is that for a change the females, however malevolent, get to use their brains rather than their bodies as problem solving implements.
Maria Garcia, Film Journal International
A solid 'B' movie with no meaningful dialogue, a creaky plotline and wildly evocative characters, but its crude charm is unmistakable.
Sean O'Connell, Filmcritic.com
Marias is all about build-up, with very little payoff.
Jon Popick, Planet Sick-Boy
Abranches isn't able to turn the wackiness into anything I would be able to recommend to anyone who isn't whacked out of their gourd on mind-altering substances.
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The film has all the pregnant pauses, exaggerated reaction shots and melodramatic scoring of an overripe telenovela, but, unlike a good soap opera, the sisters' separate story lines are clumsily balanced.
David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
This strikingly unusual movie is at once an old-fashioned melodrama, a boldly stylized spectacle, and a very grim fairy tale, acted and directed with originality and flair.

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Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In the Brazilian film, "The Three Marias", the husband and two sons of Filomena(Marieta Severo) have just been brutally murdered. She gathers her three grown daughters, Maria Francisca(Julia Lemmertz), Maria Rosa(Maria Luisa Mendonca) and Maria… More
[font=Century Gothic]In the Brazilian film, "The Three Marias", the husband and two sons of Filomena(Marieta Severo) have just been brutally murdered. She gathers her three grown daughters, Maria Francisca(Julia Lemmertz), Maria Rosa(Maria Luisa Mendonca) and Maria Pia(Luiza Mariani), and instructs them to employ three hitmen to kill the murderers and bring their heads to her.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"The Three Marias" is an odd, beguiling and violent revenge flick with an interesting structure. The film uses religious symbolism to comment on misogyny in the Church, thus lending a definite feminist edge to the whole project, especially with the strong female characters.[/font]