Mauricio Andrade Ramos Movies

Filmmaker Eduardo Coutinho examines the creative process and how it can change both the artist and their art in this documentary. Enrique Diaz is an innovative director with the Galpão Theatre Company in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. When Diaz set out to stage a new production of Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, he asked his cast and collaborators to think of the play as a fresh, new work and present it accordingly; by bringing the classic story into the 21st century, Diaz sought to give the material a new immediacy and emotional impact. However, with his cast approaching Chekhov's characters in a more modern way, they also found the material affected them as it had not in the past. In Moscow, Coutinho allows us to watch as an important theater piece goes from rehearsals to premiere, while we also see the actors begin to take on the personalities of the characters they interpret. Moscow received its American premiere at the 2009 AFI Fest, a film festival coordinated by the American Film Institute. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Motorcycle Diaries director Walter Salles Jr. helms this story of a band of brothers intent on getting out of the Brazilian ghetto in a Media Rights Capital production. Co-directing is Daniela Thomas, from a script she wrote with George Moura (Moro No Brasil) and Salles. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Veteran documentary filmmaker Eduardo Coutinho sets out to the northeastern Brazilian state of Paraiba on an abstract mission seek out everyday wisdom of common people, and the result is a film that concerns itself less with telling a cohesive tale than capturing the attitudes of people whose unique perspective has rarely been captured on camera. Lacking any preconceived ideas of what his film will actually become, Coutinho and his crew soon befriend a young girl named Rosa. In the following days Rosa will act as the filmmakers' liaison to the remote rural community of Araçás. Araçás is a place where everybody seems to know everyone else's name, and Rosa seems somehow related to them all. As the days pass by and the elderly citizens of Araçás reveal themselves to possess a compelling wisdom that stems from a lifetime of hard work with few creature comforts to speak of, their will to survive in the face of unusual hardships offers telling insight into the remarkable power of the human spirit. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A simple cruise turns into a jealous battle for the affections of a sultry prostitute as the co-owners of a small cargo boat make their way down the Brazilian coastline in director Sergio Machado's stylish and sultry erotic drama. Deco (Lazaro Ramos) and Naldinho (Wagner Moura) are best friends who make their living by renting out their modest cargo boat. Approached by 20-year-old prostitute Karinna (Alice Braga) for a ride down the coast, the trio sets out into the waters with both Deco and Naldinho employing her professional services throughout the course of the journey. After a fateful knife fight at a Cachoeira cockfight leaves Naldinho struggling for his life, Deco finds himself slowly falling for Karinna as his badly wounded friend battles back from the brink of death. Though Karinna's relationship with Deco becomes increasingly intimate during Naldinho's convalescence, it doesn't take long for the kindly prostitute to realize that Deco isn't the only one with intentions of claiming her as his own. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Fernando Meirelles' City of God is a sweeping tale of how crime affects the poor population of Rio de Janeiro. Though the narrative skips around in time, the main focus is on Cabeleira who formed a gang called the Tender Trio. He and his best friend, Bené (Phelipe Haagensen), become crime lords over the course of a decade. When Bené is killed before he can retire, Lil' Zé attempts to take out his arch enemy, Sandro Cenoura (Matheus Nachtergaele). But Sandro and a young gangster named Mane form an alliance and begin a gang war with Lil' Zé. Amateur photographer Buscape (Alexandre Rodrigues) takes pictures of the brutal crime war, making their story famous. City of God was screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A young man is forced to choose between family tradition and his own dreams and desires in this drama from Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles. In 1910 in a remote farming community, two families, the Breveses and the Ferreiras, both of whom earn their living growing sugar cane, have been squabbling over the ownership of a piece of land for years. The disagreement turned violent some time back, and after the first shot was fired and blood was spilled, the other family insisted upon killing the gunman as a matter of honor. The second shooter was then killed for the same reason, and ever since the two clans have been trading off murders in the name of familial honor and justice. The Breveses, who are a much smaller family, have been suffering a great deal more than their rivals thanks to this feud; a steady drop in sugar prices has also left the family with little but their pride. When Inácio, the first-born son of the Breves family, is shot down, his father (José Dumont) orders his next-oldest son, Tonho (Rodrigo Santoro), to kill one of the Ferreira boys after the traditional month-long waiting period. Tonho finds himself questioning the wisdom of this bloody rivalry, and he ponders his fate while spending time with his younger brother (Ravi Ramos Lacerda), whom his parents never bothered to name. As Tonho ponders his fate, a small traveling circus comes to town; Tonho and his brother are soon caught in the spell of Clara (Flavia Marco Antonio), a beautiful circus performer who befriends the young boy and nicknames him Pacu, while Tonho finds himself falling in love with her, and longing to travel the country at her side. Abril Despedacado won the Little Golden Lion award at the 2001 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi