You probably know Xuxa Meneghel as the "Queen of the Little Ones," the blonde, bubbly Brazilian icon who dominated children's television across Latin America for decades. But there is a massive, dark asterisk on her resume that she spent millions of dollars trying to erase from existence. We're talking about Love Strange Love, or Amor Estranho Amor, a 1982 film directed by Walter Hugo Khouri that remains one of the most polarizing pieces of cinema ever produced in South America. It isn't just a "weird movie." It's a legal battleground, a career-threatening mistake, and a surprisingly complex piece of filmmaking that most people judge without ever actually seeing.
Honestly, the reputation of the love strange love film precedes the actual content. For years, you couldn't even find a bootleg copy without knowing a guy who knew a guy.
The Plot That Sparked a Decades-Long Ban
The story isn't a simple romance. Not even close. It’s told through the eyes of Hugo, an adult man looking back at a specific, transformative period of his childhood in 1937. He visits his mother, Anna, who lives in a high-end brothel owned by a powerful politician. The house is a den of vice, luxury, and political maneuvering.
Xuxa plays Tamara, a young woman living in the house. The scene that caused all the chaos involves Tamara seducing the young Hugo. It’s uncomfortable. It’s meant to be.
But here’s the thing: Khouri wasn't a "shlock" director. He was a master of Brazilian Cinema Novo and psychological drama. He was obsessed with existential dread and the eroticism of the upper class. When he cast Xuxa, she wasn't the "Queen of the Little Ones" yet. She was a 18-year-old model looking for a break. She had no idea that her brand would eventually become synonymous with "wholesome children's entertainment," making this specific role a ticking time bomb for her public relations team.
Why Xuxa Fought So Hard to Bury It
For nearly 20 years, Xuxa’s legal team was on a warpath. They successfully blocked the distribution, sale, and broadcast of the love strange love film in Brazil. If a TV station even thought about airing a clip, they were met with an immediate injunction.
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Why? Because by the late 80s, Xuxa was a billion-dollar industry. She had dolls, theme parks, and a daily show where she blew kisses to "her children." Having a film on the market where she portrays the sexual initiation of a minor was, predictably, a branding nightmare.
The irony is that the ban actually made the film legendary.
It turned a moody, slow-paced period piece into a "forbidden fruit." People who wouldn't care about a 1930s-set drama were suddenly scouring the early internet for grainy files just to see what the fuss was about. The "Xuxa Lawsuit" became more famous than the movie itself. It wasn't until around 2018 that the legal shackles really began to loosen, mostly because the internet made censorship an impossible game of whack-a-mole.
Beyond the Controversy: Is It Actually a Good Movie?
If you strip away the tabloid headlines, what’s left?
Surprisingly, a lot.
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Khouri’s cinematography is lush. The 1930s setting is rendered with a heavy, humid atmosphere that feels almost suffocating. It captures a very specific era of Brazilian history—the Getúlio Vargas years—where the lines between the halls of power and the bedrooms of brothels were nonexistent.
- Tarcísio Meira, one of Brazil's greatest actors, delivers a powerhouse performance as the politician.
- Vera Fischer, another massive star, plays Anna with a desperate, fading elegance.
- The music is haunting, lingering long after the credits roll.
Critics often argue that the love strange love film is an exploration of the loss of innocence on a national scale. It’s not just about a boy; it’s about a country losing its way. But that’s a hard sell when the marketing (or the anti-marketing) focuses entirely on the scandal.
Most people expect a "sleazy" movie. What they get is a slow, philosophical, and deeply cynical look at human nature. It’s "strange," sure. But it’s also undeniably artful.
The Legal Turning Point
The tide changed when Xuxa herself started talking about it. In a landmark 2020 interview with Fantástico, she finally addressed the elephant in the room. She didn't apologize for the film, but she explained the context: she was a teenager, she was following a script, and she didn't have a voice back then.
"I didn't do it. Tamara did," she basically said.
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That shift from "this doesn't exist" to "this happened, and I've moved on" changed the narrative. It allowed film historians to finally discuss the work without being sued into oblivion. It also highlighted a double standard in the industry. Male actors often play dark or controversial roles without it haunting their entire careers, but for Xuxa, the "Madonna/Whore" complex was weaponized against her for three decades.
How to Approach Love Strange Love Today
If you decide to track down the love strange love film, go in with your eyes open. It is a product of its time—the "Pornochanchada" era of Brazilian cinema, though it aims much higher than its peers.
Don't expect a fast-paced thriller. It’s a "vibe" movie. It’s about shadows, whispers, and the way children perceive the adult world as a series of terrifying, incomprehensible rituals.
Key Takeaways for Film Buffs:
- Watch the background. The set design is arguably the best part of the movie. It perfectly captures the decaying aristocracy of 1930s Brazil.
- Context is everything. Remember that in 1982, Brazil was still under a military dictatorship. Filmmakers often used eroticism and metaphor to bypass censors and talk about the corruption of power.
- Separate the art from the icon. Try to forget you're watching "Xuxa." Look at the performance of Tamara as a character trapped in a cycle of exploitation.
The film is no longer the "secret" it once was. You can find it on various streaming platforms in Brazil now, and it has been screened at festivals as a restored classic. It’s a reminder that you can't really "delete" history, no matter how much money you have.
Instead of trying to hide the love strange love film, the best approach has been to contextualize it. It is a piece of Brazilian cinematic history—messy, uncomfortable, and brilliantly shot. It tells us as much about the 1930s (when it was set) and the 1980s (when it was made) as it does about our own modern obsession with celebrity scandals.
If you’re interested in the evolution of Brazilian cinema, your next step should be looking into the broader Pornochanchada movement. While many of those films were low-budget comedies, directors like Khouri used the genre's popularity to sneak in profound psychological studies. Researching the filmography of Vera Fischer or the earlier works of Walter Hugo Khouri, like Noite Vazia, will give you a much better understanding of why this film looks and feels the way it does. Understanding the cultural climate of the 1980s "Redemocratization" in Brazil adds a layer of meaning to the film's themes of power and transition that most casual viewers completely miss.