The Assailant

In 1924, nearly forty years after slavery was formally abolished in Brazil, the shadow of oppression still weighs heavy on former enslaved communities. In the Recôncavo Baiano region, resistance is led by Mestre Alípio, a respected master of capoeira who channels the fighters’ history into a living defense for the people. When threats to his life grow too loud, his trusted apprentice, Besouro, steps forward as his bodyguard. Yet Besouro dedicates most of his days to street capoeira circles, and this devotion to the art tragically leaves Alípio exposed, culminating in his death at the hands of the police.

A turning point comes when a spiritual entity called Exu visits Besouro and demands worship. In an attempt to resist the supernatural pressure, Besouro inadvertently triggers chaos at a work fair, drawing the attention of the guards. He dives into a river and is guided toward a spiritual teacher, Dona Zulmira, who bestows upon him a choker that grants him corpo fechado—an almost invincible state against attacks and weapons, save for the sacred ticum tree.

Armed with these new powers, Besouro launches a one-man guerrilla campaign against the plantations controlled by Coronel Venâncio, a formidable army officer who keeps the local Black community under tight control. His bold moves earn him the fierce resentment of his childhood friend, Quero-Quero, a fellow capoeirista who collaborates with Venâncio and believes Besouro is worsening the situation for their people. When Quero-Quero’s fiancée, Dinorá, chooses Besouro over him, the tension between the two men intensifies.

A violent confrontation in the jungle leaves Besouro victorious, but Quero-Quero retaliates by killing a man and then framing Besouro for the crime, revealing to the authorities that a ticum-made machete can pierce Besouro’s defenses. Venâncio’s men close in and nearly subdue him, yet the officer ultimately slashes Besouro with the ticum machete, delivering the fatal blow. Besouro’s life ends, and Venâncio attempts to assault Dinorá, only to be repelled by her own capoeira skills as she mourns the loss of Besouro.

In the aftermath, it’s revealed that Dinorá was pregnant with Besouro’s child. The film follows the quiet evolution of that legacy, as a young boy—named after his father and guided by Besouro’s ally, Chico Canoa—takes up capoeira. The boy’s eyes meet Venâncio’s harsh stare in the street, a foreboding sign that the struggle continues through the next generation, and that the spark of resistance and the memory of Besouro will endure, shaping the boy’s path toward justice and self-definition.

Last Updated: October 05, 2025 at 11:45