Film Review: Rita Cadillac, Lady of the People

By Filipe Bessa

The documentary Rita Cadillac – Lady of the People, directed by Toni Venturi, follows Rita, a Brazilian entertainer famous primarily for her voluptuous butt, as she recounts her life story. After a humble upbringing and classic catholic school education, Rita briefly falls into a life of prostitution, but she soon becomes involved in a traveling variety show that eventually lands her a spot as one of the Chacretes, the sexy backup dancers in a popular show hosted by TV personality Chacrinha. The show quickly transformed Rita into a national sex symbol and bestowed on her the catchy last name, an allusion to the luxurious American car with equally curvaceous features.

Rita Cadillac

The film is structured around Rita’s rich past and amusing anecdotes, and through her sincerity and awareness the intimacy of her life grabs the viewer. But what gives the film real weight beyond the biographic narrative are the themes that Rita and her life story represent.

In a country so obsessed with beauty and sensuality, how does a mythic sex symbol grow old? Rita recognizes that she owes her success to her body and consequently is held hostage by it. At age 50, after the inevitable decline of her career, Rita stars in a series of porn films. Tragic as it may be, her ability to sustain the sexual charisma that defined her youth well into middle age is engrossing. The film ends with a famous quote from Rita, “When I die, I want to be buried face down so people will recognize me.”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTRBJw67Few