World War II · Film · 2013
Road 47
A Estrada 47
After a night of collective panic on the Gothic Line, four Brazilian mine-clearers and their lieutenant, lost from their company in the snowbound Apennines, try to redeem themselves by clearing a mined road toward a village held by the Germans.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 1 places.
Stop 1: Brazilian sector of the Gothic Line, near Monte Castello
Key location
Fearing a court-martial for abandoning their post, the men team up with a war correspondent and set out to clear an active minefield on a mountain road.
What really happened
Brazil declared war on Germany and Italy in August 1942 after U-boats sank Brazilian merchant ships, and in 1944 sent the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, about 25,000 men, to Italy, the only Latin American ground force to fight in Europe. Most of its soldiers came from poor rural backgrounds and had never seen snow before the winter of 1944 in the Apennines.
Attached to the US Fifth Army, the Brazilians held a sector of the Gothic Line in the Reno valley, where they failed in several costly attacks on Monte Castello in November and December 1944 before taking it on 21 February 1945. About 450 Brazilian soldiers died in Italy. The film's unit and village are fictional, built from veterans' diaries, letters and interviews.
Where to watch
Checking streaming services…
Full details
- Original title
- A Estrada 47
- Directed by
- Vicente Ferraz
- Countries
- Brazil, Italy, Portugal
- Languages
- Portuguese, Italian, German
- Released
- 2013
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- Mediterranean & Africa
- Themes
- Combat
- True story
