Sonhos Tropicais

In 1899, Esther (Carolina Kasting), a young Polish Jewish woman, arrives in Rio de Janeiro expecting to meet her fiancé, and dreaming to raise a family in a new country. However, there is no man engaged to marry her, but an international scheme of prostitution in a brothel in Lapa. Esther becomes a prostitute to survive in Brazil. On the same ship, Dr. Oswaldo Cruz (Bruno Giordano) returns to Rio de Janeiro with his wife, after working and studying in Paris for three years in the Pasteur Institute. In the beginning of the Twentieth Century, Brazil has yellow fever in Rio de Janeiro, bubonic plague in Santos and smallpox epidemics and the idealistic Oswaldo Cruz wants to change the mentality of public health. His dream is to have much care with the prevention against the diseases, instead of healing the patients. Dr. Oswaldo Cruz eliminates the yellow fever epidemics, killing the mosquitoes and the plague, buying dead rats from the population. He develops a vaccine against smallpox, having the support of President Rodrigues Alves (Cecil Thiré). However, the population is used by the opposition to the government, raising a popular movement called 'The Vaccine Rebellion', which ends on November, 18th 1904. Oswaldo Cruz becomes Head of the Public Health Department in the Instituto Manguinhos (Fiocruz). 'Sonhos Tropicais' is a fantastic movie, blending history and fiction and using the drama of a deceived Polish woman, pictures of the Old Rio de Janeiro and the gossips of three friends in Confeitaria Colombo, to present the great picture of historic events of Brazilian history. Carolina Kasting has an outstanding performance in the role of Esther and I highly recommend this movie. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): 'Sonhos Tropicais' ('Tropical Dreams')

The script is boring and the acting is wooden. The characters are plain and are only there to illustrate an instant of Brazilian history. On the other hand, the lighting and camera-work are professional and there are no obvious blunders. Which adds up to a mediocre film.

There is really not much more to say. A scientist is a selfless hero, boring as hell. The police chief, who looks like a Ramzan Kadyrov, is extremely bad, also boring as hell. There's some sex, left for the viewer to imagine, boring as hell. Everything is boring as hell. Don't watch it. There's better stuff out there.

I actually enjoyed the movie but I was mightily drunk.