Amor Estranho Amor -love Strange Love- -1982- English Dubbed Awesome Movie Portable
Set in the late 1930s against the backdrop of rising political tensions in Brazil, Amor Estranho Amor is told through the memories of an adult man named Hugo. He looks back at a crucial period in his childhood when, as a 12-year-old boy, he was sent to live with his mother, Anna, in a luxurious, high-class brothel managed by her.
Amor Estranho Amor (1982) is definitely a film for a specific niche—those who enjoy provocative, slow-burn psychological dramas, art-house foreign cinema, or 1980s cult classics. It is not a typical mainstream movie. It is deeply emotional and, at times, polarizing, meant to evoke strong feelings rather than simple entertainment.
The dubbed voices carry a distinctly vintage, slightly detached tone that perfectly matches the film’s dream-logic narrative. There is an inherent campiness to watching such intense, melodramatic sexual and political liaisons dubbed in stilted, theatrical English. It elevates the film from a standard foreign drama into a piece of midnight-movie magic, making the "strange love" feel even stranger.
"Amor Estranho Amor" is far more than the taboo, sensationalized exploitation film that pop culture gossip made it out to be. It is a serious, visually stunning, and deeply melancholic look at power, aging, and the sudden, jarring end of childhood. Set in the late 1930s against the backdrop
Today, Xuxa is a Brazilian icon—a children’s television host, a singer, a merchandising mogul (often called the "Brazilian Madonna"). But before she became "Queen of the Little Ones," she played Tamar. It is a shockingly vulnerable performance. Tamar is barely older than a girl herself, trapped in the brothel, and her connection with Hugo is the film’s emotional core. Xuxa brings a heartbreaking innocence to a role that could have been purely prurient. For international fans of the , her soft voice and wide-eyed performance transcend language.
Good luck. Love Strange Love has been banned in several countries and heavily censored in others. The uncut English dubbed version is the holy grail for collectors of "Video Nasties" and Brazilian cult cinema.
When stripped of its tabloid notoriety, Amor Estranho Amor stands as a technically proficient and well-acted piece of cinema. Walter Hugo Khouri was a master of capturing internal human existential dread, a trait that shines through the film's dreamlike pacing and moody atmosphere. It is not a typical mainstream movie
For over twenty years, the film was effectively banned from public broadcast, home video distribution, and commercial sales in Brazil due to injunctions. This legal suppression naturally had the opposite effect outside of Brazil; it created an aura of mystery, turning the movie into a highly sought-after cult item for cinephiles and collectors of forbidden cinema. The legal restrictions were finally lifted in the late 2010s, allowing the film to be evaluated for its artistic merits rather than just its notoriety. The Quest for the English Dubbed Version
Amor Estranho Amor is an uncomfortable, complex, and deeply provocative piece of art. It is a film that refuses to offer easy answers, choosing instead to linger in the gray areas of human morality and memory. While it will forever be remembered for the real-world controversy and the legal battles that defined Xuxa’s career, it deserves to be recognized for its atmospheric direction and its bold, uncompromising look at the end of innocence. For fans of rare 1980s world cinema, tracking down this elusive title remains a compelling look into a turbulent chapter of Latin American film history. To help you explore or analyze this film further,
It would be dishonest to discuss Love Strange Love without addressing the controversy surrounding its release. Many critics accused Khouri of creating softcore child exploitation. Defenders argue the film is a powerful critique of authoritarianism, showing how totalitarian regimes (like the looming 1937 dictatorship) turn human relationships into commodities. There is an inherent campiness to watching such
Many reviews are mixed, with some critics calling the film "boring" or "incoherent." But for fans, the film's power lies precisely in its strangeness. The world is seen through the child's curious and confused gaze. The slow pacing, the opulent photography, the recurring close-ups of characters' blue eyes—these elements create a hypnotic, unique cinematic language.
The film is highly controversial due to explicit scenes involving the then-young protagonist and adult women, particularly the sequence featuring Xuxa.
However, within the context of the film's artistic goals, Hugo’s youth is the entire point. Khouri uses the boy’s innocence as a mirror to reflect the absurdity, sadness, and hypocrisy of the adult world. Hugo is not corrupted by the brothel; rather, he accepts it with a pure, childlike lack of judgment, contrasting sharply with the hypocritical politicians and religious figures who visit the house under the cover of darkness. It is a psychosexual fable about the loss of innocence, not a gratuitous exploitation film—though it walks an incredibly fine line.