Lonesome Women

Set in a remote stretch of Brazilian mountains, Lonesome Women follows an old miner who stumbles on a huge diamond while working for a violent gang. Rather than hand it over, he hides the gem in his pocket, and that single choice sets off a tense chain of confrontations. The film tracks how isolation and the harsh landscape sharpen mistrust among the men, as loyalty, greed, and survival instincts clash. Small moments of quiet and long shots of the terrain heighten the pressure, keeping the plot focused on interpersonal strain without revealing how the conflict resolves.

Directed by Walter Hugo Khouri and created by Carlos Alberto de Souza Barros, the film was released in 1959 and features Helio Souto, Aurora Duarte, Victor Merinow, Lola Brah, and Ruth de Souza in key roles, reflecting Brazilian studio and independent production practices of the era.

No widely available box office records exist for Lonesome Women, and it did not secure a notable international release. Its commercial footprint remains limited, with most screenings and appreciation confined to regional or archival contexts.

Though not a mainstream classic, the picture is part of late 1950s Brazilian cinema, and it includes Ruth de Souza, an important figure in the country's film history who brought visibility to Afro-Brazilian performers. The film’s setting and cast offer a snapshot of regional storytelling that contrasts with more urban productions of the time.

Critical reception is sparse in contemporary sources, but the movie is recognizable for its themes of isolation, greed, and shifting power in a lawless environment. Visually, it favors stark compositions that emphasize the unforgiving landscape, and narratively it probes how a single secret can unsettle a fragile social order. The result feels austere and focused, a character-driven study of moral choices under pressure.