The principal character in Helvécio Ratton's delightful film has been adapted from a book and comic created by the Brazilian cartoonist Ziraldo, and tells the tale of a happy-go-lucky 10-year-old child growing up in a city in the 60s.
In São Paulo, in the late 1960s, the convent of the Dominican friars became a trench of resistance to the military dictatorship that governs Brazil. Moved by Christian ideals, frets Betto, Oswaldo, Fernando, Ivo and Tito came to support the guerrilla group Ação Libertadora Nacional, commanded by Carlos Marighella.
Based on the true story of four friends who decide to install a communal pirate radio station called Rádio Favela in a shanty-town, to give voice to the outcasts' complaints.
Ângelo arrives at his grandmother's house in Minas Gerais. There, a small chest full of coins and an enigma were discovered, supposedly left by a priest who, 200 years earlier, would have hidden a handful of diamonds.
Mr. Kapa and his assistant meet Iara, a mythical being, in a river with purple waters. Geléia, the assistant, fills a bottle with this magic water and makes three puppets turn alive.
Godofredo suffers a terrible blow when he comes back home earlier than usual and finds his wife in the arms of his partner. He sends his wife away to a coast town and dares his rival to a duel. But he begins to miss his wife and the company of his friend.
The infamous Hospital Colonia de Barbacena (Barbacena Colony Hospital), biggest mental institution of Brazil, once compared to concentration camps of Auschwitz ,opens its gates to a production crew during the country's dictatorship period. This short documentary depicts how mental patients were treated inside the institution and how anyone could end up an intern there for no plausible reason.
On the porch of a farm, a woman tells stories while cutting and sewing scraps of cloth, creating images that form a towel. There are four stories of humor and magic. The fisherman's wedding with Iara, a mermaid from the rivers. The altar boy of a church that sees the procession of souls. The encounter between a Santa Claus in a store and a street boy and the adventures of Zé Burraldo, a naive guy who always lets himself be carried away by others.
Manfredo seeks out a psychiatrist. The doctor insists on knowing his past, but there is something that Manfredo doesn't want to reveal and he abandons treatment. Dr. Pink starts to chase Manfredo and his life turns into hell.
Three schoolgirls secretly read the erotic-comic poem Elixir do Pajé, by Bernardo Guimarães. First published in 1875, in Ouro Preto, the poem is an amusing monologue by a man with his (no longer) virile member.
The documentary tells how the artisanal cheese production technique arrived in Minas Gerais in the 18th century, brought by Portuguese adventurers in search of gold. Today, almost 30 thousand families live from the production of artisanal cheese throughout the state.
