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They Don't Wear Black Tie

Original title: Eles Não Usam Black-Tie

“The class struggle is, above all, familiar.”

1981 · 2 h 2 min
Directed by Leon Hirszman · Brazil · Brazilian Cinema
Drama

Cast

Gianfrancesco Guarnieri Fernanda Montenegro Carlos Alberto Riccelli Bete Mendes Lélia Abramo Anselmo Vasconcelos

Credits

Written by: Gianfrancesco Guarnieri

Plot

Otavio is an idealistic union leader trying to organize workers at a factory to resist the company's exploitative practices. His son, Tião, one of the employees, is more of a realist and doesn't want to risk losing his job by striking.

Sinekatalog’s take

They Don't Wear Black Tie (1981) is a Brazilian drama directed by Leon Hirszman. It won the Gran Coral at the Havana Film Festival in 1981. It stars Carlos Alberto Riccelli, Bete Mendes and Fernanda Montenegro. It runs 122 minutes. It is listed here for its festival and awards record.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

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Awards

Ratings

IMDb: 8.2 / 10 (2,344 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.