forropdx I do not recommend this film and as another reviewer has stated, it is not a good representation of the country or even the city of Recife, Brazil. It is needlessly depressing. If you can take the movie as a criticism of life itself, it could have more meaning. The stereotypes and innuendos depicted about Brazilian life are not characteristic of the subject. The spiritual journey of the main character is depicted as a positive one, but it suggests that the only escape available for her is to have a solitary life.

tomifost I'm giving this more stars than I normally would to counter-balance the bad reviews left by people who were only grossed out by it. I definitely can see why some people thought it to be obscene, but I think the directors choice of crassness is only one aspect of the film and criticisms of the film should keep that in mind. While many of the scenes are shocking, I didn't see them as completely non sequitur or senselessly gratuitous. Honestly, I've been more disgusted with watching local nightly news than this film. In the world we live in cows get slaughtered, angry sex can get weird, and people can be cold-blooded. I suppose I have a very liberal acceptance of film, but human beings are capable of odd and strange things; this film does not shy away from that. This is not a romantic comedy, it is an independent film based in the slums of Brazil.

guillaumebarreau I went to see this film based on the favourable comments from other Imdb users but I hated it. I am a foreigner living in Brazil and I can tell you that if I saw Brazil the way the director does, I would be on the next plane out of here. I thought the film was insulting, showing the misery in the most degrading and despising way. I am not denying of course that this misery exists but I don't think that the lower class is as repugnant as the film wants to portray it. Religious beliefs, which probably helps a lot of poor people cope with a harsh reality, is shown as a superficial veneer on top of some badly repressed bestiality. In the middle of a film which portrays all its characters as a bunch of near animals, there is a shot where a man is reading a book by Nietzsche. Was this irony? A "clin d'oeil" of the director to his middle class audience? I didn't know what to make of this. There have been some really good brazilian films lately (eu,tu,eles, central do Brasil,...) but this is not one of them. In fact it seems like a return to the really crap 70s brazilian films where compulsive swearing, unrealistic emotional intensity from beginning to end and any excuse to show a woman's pubic hair were the main ingredients.

Ferdinando This is one of the best brazilian movies I have ever seen. The way the characters' stories get connected to each other along the movie is really amazing. Some of all the poverty, violence and social disease so common at a humble landscape of Brazil is depicted on the screen through a great script and dazzling photography. Although the sharp sense of humour of some characters this movie contains the right amount of reality that some people may not feel comfortable to watch. For those who have the guts, this motion picture is a perfect portrait of a brazilian unfair society that may remain in the mind of the audiences for quite along. Shocking, hilarious and tough. Two thumbs up!