Repressão e resistência: a teologia da libertação e o papel dos frades dominicanos a partir do filme batismo de sangue

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the role of the Dominican friars during the Brazilian civil-military dictatorship (1964–1985), from the perspective of Liberation Theology and its representation in the film Batismo de Sangue (2007), directed by Helvécio Ratton. The research discusses how faith, combined with social commitment, became an instrument of resistance against the oppression and violence of the military regime. Liberation Theology emerged in Latin America, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s, as a theological response to social, political, and economic injustice, proposing a preferential option for the poor and the oppressed. Authors such as Gustavo Gutiérrez, Leonardo Boff, Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns, Dom Hélder Câmara, and Dom Pedro Casaldáliga were fundamental in consolidating this movement. In the Brazilian context, inspired by this theology, the Dominican friars engaged in social struggles, denouncing human rights violations and confronting state repression. The film Batismo de Sangue, based on Frei Betto’s book of the same name, is used as a historical source and object of analysis, highlighting the tensions, ethical dilemmas, and consequences of religious resistance during the authoritarian regime. The methodology adopted is qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive, based on content analysis, historical hermeneutics, and cultural history, considering cinema as a tool for preserving memory and building historical awareness. The study concludes that the resistance of the Dominican friars, grounded in Liberation Theology, was a concrete expression of faith committed to justice, contributing significantly to the defense of human rights in Brazil. The research also highlights the role of cinema as an educational and political tool in the construction of social memory and in fostering reflection on contemporary democratic challenges