Madame Sata portrays a real-life Brazilian folk hero, a popular criminal and minor cabaret star who, while certainly no Robin Hood, did capture the turbulent spirit of a corrupt frontier society where people of color were relegated to the margins...

| Jun 12, 2020

The film's non-dramatic but exhilarating finale is what clings most memorably.

| Sep 6, 2006

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 6, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 9, 2005

Ainouz' script and style seem unwilling to explore below the surface. He embraces the story's physical details...without revealing much of his subject's soul.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 30, 2004

Actor Ramos brings an extraordinary intensity and focus to this contradictory role, changing emotions and actions on a dime.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 19, 2004

Erotic, violent and bursting with colour.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 7, 2003

Often captivating.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Nov 7, 2003

A myopic, histrionic picture that never lets us know why this legendary character is legendary, and worthy of our attention.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 31, 2003

An amateurish muddle, and a whole different kind of a drag.

| Original Score: D | Oct 30, 2003

While the depiction of the Lapa district and the details of repressed homosexual life in Rio 10 years ago is always intriguing, we come away learning very little about the individual known as Madame Sat.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Oct 27, 2003

Director Karim Ainouz's film draws you in close.

Full Review | Oct 10, 2003

Rough-hewn and vigorous, Karim Anouz's first feature film tells the story about an illiterate 1930s drag queen... and it's surprisingly good.

| Original Score: B | Oct 7, 2003

Worth catching for the photography and for Lzaro Ramos' performance.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Oct 3, 2003

You get nothing about what makes his life so interesting.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 26, 2003

It's a vivid, emotionally charged snapshot that makes no apologies or excuses for Madame's behavior and lifestyle.

| Original Score: B- | Sep 25, 2003

Madame Sata is only a chapter in Francisco's story, and even that feels incomplete.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 21, 2003

A one-note take on a complex subject.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 12, 2003

Ramos gives a powerful and raw performance, but never reveals what makes Joao who he is, what drives him both to violence and to vibrant self-expression.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Sep 11, 2003

A fascinating study of gay identity politics.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 27, 2003