For those unfamiliar, A Menina e o Cavalo (Portuguese for The Girl and the Horse ) is a 1983 Brazilian drama directed by the late Marcos Faria. It tells the stark, poetic story of a lonely girl, Joana, in rural Rio Grande do Sul, who forms a profound, almost telepathic connection with a wild, injured stallion. It is not a glossy family adventure. It is slow, melancholic, and brutally realistic. The film bombed upon initial release but has since gained a fervent cult following.
★★★★★ (5/5) Final rating (as a family film): ★☆☆☆☆ (1/5) Final rating (as a work of art): ★★★★★ (5/5) a menina e o cavalo 1983 better
By: Classic Cinema Revisited
There were no stunt doubles. In the film’s most famous sequence—where Joana tames the horse by lying still in a freezing river—Braga was actually hypothermic. Faria kept cameras rolling. That is not cruelty; that is commitment. And you feel it. Every frame vibrates with real cold, real mud, and real risk. For those unfamiliar, A Menina e o Cavalo
Faria shot A Menina e o Cavalo on location in the pampas (grasslands) during a record-breaking winter. The child actress, 11-year-old Luciana Braga, had never acted before. The horse, Trovão (Thunder), was a semi-feral Crioulo breed known for kicking crew members. It is slow, melancholic, and brutally realistic
Compare this to the hyper-saturated, teal-and-orange grading of modern horse films. The 1983 aesthetic is not beautiful in a postcard sense. It is beautiful in a funereal sense. Every sunrise looks like a bruise. Every rainstorm looks like the end of the world.
You believe cinema’s highest purpose is to look away from comfort and toward the hard truth. Conclusion: Is It “Better”? The Final Verdict Let’s answer the question directly: Yes, A Menina e o Cavalo (1983) is better than 99% of girl-and-horse films ever made. But it is better in the same way that raw oysters are better than chicken nuggets: not everyone has the taste for it, but those who do know that nothing else compares.