The article discusses four recent brazilian biographical films - João Salles' Santiago (2007), Marília Rocha's Acácio, Carlos Nader's Pan-cinema permanente (2008) and Paula Gaitán's Vida (2008) - and tries to understand a same dialogical and reflexive stance that characterizes them: the dialogical structure, and the manner by which they treat the depicted character's life story, by associating personal memory and public history, archive footage and present images.
Brazilian documentary; Santiago; Pan-cinema permanente; Acácio; Vida; portrait; dialogue