Fantasies and clichés about Brazil and Brazilians as reinforced by international films, even those actually shot in Brazil. This documentary features interviews with non-Brazilian directors, writers and stars who have been involved in some of those films.
The nation of Brazil is a land of exotic beauty, where the sensuous rhythms of the bossa nova pulsate all night and glamorous men and women sun themselves on the beaches all day. Or at least that"s the picture of Brazil that one is likely to get from going to the movies; however, Hollywood"s image of Brazil (like much of Latin America) doesn"t have a strong basis in fact, and filmmaker Lucia Murat explores the gulf between reality and the American myth of Brazil in Olhar Estrangeiro (aka The Foreign Eye). In addition to pointing out some of the more obvious errors in American films set in Brazil (in Next Stop, Wonderland, tourists discuss the beaches of Sao Paolo, a industrial inland city), Murat interviews a number of noted actors and filmmakers who are seemingly unaware of how inaccurate their work happens to be (including Michael Caine, Hope Davis, Jon Voigt, Zalman King and Larry Gelbart). The film also includes conversations with European directors (including Philippe de Broca and Eduoard Luntz, who are questioned about their own skewed perception of Brazil. The Foreign Eye received its American premiere at the 2006 Los Angeles Latino Film Festival.