Tati

In the early 70's in Rio de Janeiro, the seamstress single mother Manuela (Dina Sfat) moves with he six year-old daughter Tati (Daniela Vasconcelos) from the suburb of Penha to a small apartment in Copacabana expecting a better life. However, she has financial difficulties to support her simple lifestyle with her spoiled daughter that misses her absent father that left his ship in Asia and never returned home. When Manuela gets pregnant, her life becomes harder. Her friend Captain Peixoto (Hugo Carvana), who works in a merchant vessel of a shipping company, proposes her but Manuela refuses.

The awful "Tati, A Garota" is one of the most pointless, annoying and boring Brazilian movies I have ever seen. The irritating story goes nowhere, and Manuela is a non-well developed character regarding her love-hate relationship with her daughter. The girl Daniela Vasconcelos performs an annoying girl with bad education that shows no respect for anyone. The greatest part of this movie is the chance to revisit many wonderful landscapes of Rio de Janeiro in the 70's. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Tati, A Garota" ("Tati, the Girl")

I was 7 years-old when I first saw Tati, a Garota, and I remember enjoying it very much. Even though I was a bit young to fully comment on the story, I recall having lots of feelings about it. I could relate to the girl since I was also raised by an "absent" father - although I knew who he was. My mother went through very similar problems while trying to give me the best education, and shifting all priorities to accomplish so. It wasn't until I turned 40 that I saw the movie again, and the feelings came back with a better understanding of its true meaning. Thanks Bruno Barreto for such a detailed portrait of a single mom's life in the early 70's Rio de Janeiro. Great movie!