Café com Canela

The film is a beautiful and delicate mosaic, not easy to be followed, but with extraordinary direction, composed by different pasts and presents, joy and sorrow, losses and meetings, life and death, separated parts connected with food and drink (barbecue, birthday cake, acarajé, escondidnho, coxinha, beer, and obvioulsy coffee with cinnamon), with realistic and quasi-documental dialogues, sophisticated sound edition (the sound of memory, the drumming alarm...), innovative cuts and takes. Lots of human relations, affective bonds, and the daily culture of Bahia state. All actors go very well, but Babu Santana may be highlighted: by comparing his performance with his previous (also excellent) works, anyone will be no less thn amazed by how versatile and convincing he may be while playing each unique character.

I've watched this movie in its debut and it's become one of my favorites ever since. The authors employed an impressive array of techniques that together manage to achieve unforgettable emotional depth. The attention to detail is astounding; the music, the set decorations, the religious imagery, the dialogue, everything resonates in a profound way, specially to those familiar with Brazil and its people. The themes in the film are universal though, and I believe all audiences can immerse themselves in the stories and characters that are presented. This movie received the public's award when it debuted and watching it makes it easy to realize why.

It's a very special movie to me, specially due to its original and vivid depiction of Brazil that can surprise even those acquainted with other brazilian titles. It's the type of movie that makes me feel all sorts of emotions, with unparalleled intensity, and yet never feels melodramatic. There's truth in this film and you feel it.