This paper aims to elucidate the struggle between Cinema Novo and Carlos Lacerda's government (1960-1965) regarding the cinematographic representation of Rio de Janeiro. On this purpose, Cacá Diegues' A grande cidade (1966) is analyzed, in order to explicit the dispute between the critical representation of modernity - based on the principles of the political cinema - and the defense of an utopian urban image, based on the notion of capitality and materialized through modernization processes.
Cinema Novo; representation; State of Guanabara; urban cinema