Possibilities for queer revolution in Glauber Rocha’s Barravento/The Turning Wind (1962)

Previous readings of Glauber Rocha’s Barravento/The Turning Wind (1962) have generally focused on Marxist rhetoric or on the film’s treatment of Candomblé. Through a close reading of the film, this article proposes an interpretation that foregrounds the film’s depiction of sexuality and sexual identity, which helps illuminate to a greater degree the film’s potential to challenge the status quo. Coupling a queer theoretical framework with attention to the specificities of contemporary Brazilian sexual culture, this article suggests that the film’s more ambivalent or contradictory aspects often relate to how it constructs sexuality and sexual identity. Furthermore, it suggests that tensions around sexual identity can be traced to the heart of the political problem Rocha explores in Barravento, and that the resolution of these tensions is key to the development of a liberated, non-hierarchical and anti-authoritarian community.