suggap

The Assailant

The Assailant

The Assailant (known as Besouro in Brazil) is a 2009 Brazilian action-drama film directed by João Daniel Tikhomiroff. The film is about Besouro Mangangá, a Brazilian Capoeirista from the early 1920s, to whom were attributed some heroic and legendary deeds.

Plot

In 1924, almost forty years after slavery in Brazil is abolished, former black slaves are still oppressed by the rich. Resistance in the region of the Recôncavo Baiano is led by the elderly Mestre Alípio, master of a martial art, capoeira, used by the slaves to fight off abuse. Mestre Alípio's life has been threatened, so one of his best apprentices, Besouro, is appointed his bodyguard. However, Besouro spends all of his time playing capoeira in street circles, with the consequence that Alípio is killed by the police.