El bien amado

This is a remake of a very popular soap opera broadcast in the 70's, which I was too young to see. Nevertheless, i'm sure it was superior in quality, otherwise how to explain that even four decades later some of the characters' lines and jokes are still part of our daily expressions in Brazil? This lukewarm film version alone would never render such everlasting popularity. The problem very likely comes from adapting a soap opera which lasted several months into a two-hour feature - one can't help feeling things are a bit crammed and rushed. The cast, full of famous stars from the most powerful Brazilian TV channel, is mostly efficient and tries to pull this through. Don't expect character development at all - it's meant to be full of stereotypes, such as the Latin American corrupt politician, local drunkard/beggar jokes, provincial puritan ladies, etc. There are some funny jokes and scenes, particularly those with Jose Wilker, beautiful shots of northeast Brazil and a reasonably good soundtrack, but all in all I expected more. And I found that showing some real footage of political events in Brazil didn't really match the light tone this comedy should have had.