Once Upon a Time in Rio (2008)

Synopsis of Once Upon a Time in Rio

The director behind Two Sons of Francisco, Brazil's biggest box-office hit in twenty-five years, returns with this tragic love story concerning a pair of star-crossed lovers living in Rio de Janeiro's two-tiered society. Situated just above the awe-inspiring Ipanema beach in Rio is the Cantagalo slum. Every day, floods of Cantagalo residents make their way down the mountain, only to disappear into their surroundings as part of the invisible working-class that cleans apartments, works in restaurants, and sells food along the scenic, sun-drenched shores. Young Dé (Thiago Martins) is just such a man. Dé lives with his mother Bernadette (Cyria Coentro) in a cramped Cantagalo apartment, selling hot dogs on the beach in order to make the rent. His brother Beto was killed when Dé was just a young boy, and his adopted brother Carlão (Rocco Pitanga) has been jailed for a robbery that he didn't commit. One day, while working on the beach, Dé meets Nina (Vitória Frate). Nina is the only child of a successful lawyer named Evandro (Paulo César Grande), who's none to happy to discover that his daughter is dating a member of the lower class. How is it that two people who live in such close proximity to one another can seem to be from different worlds? As Dé and Nina's romance intensifies, they both begin to realize that that society is dead set against them ever achieving any measure of true happiness together. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director(s):

Breno Silveira

Writer(s):

Patricia Andrade

Producer(s):

Marcos "Tim" França, Pedro Buarque de Hollanda, Breno Silveira

Categories:

Foreign, Romance

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