Estômago

Very good brazilian movie to watch! A story told in an excellent way, with humor at the right point!

I enjoyed very much this film. It seems to be a simple story about a man -Raimundo, who comes to the big city and earns his living doing the only thing he knows: cooking. His talent leads him to know the owner of an Italian restaurant, and a prostitute. I like very much the way the film shows the relationship between them: seduction, obedience and competition. the story is easy to follow, amusing and sometimes funny. Anyway, I don't think this is all. Estomago (stomach) provides an interesting and sharp looking to our society: Both in business and in prison, there are rules to follow; power relationships according to abilities, strength, or money. Everyone is a victim in some way, but it is also guilty.

I saw the movie at the ninth edition of the Rio International Film Festival. Estômago, a Gastronomic Story, wins four awards at Latin America's largest movie showcase. It's about Nonato (João Miguel), who immigrant from the northeast to the south of Brazil and becomes a talented cook. He uses his talent to get a better life and to get the attention of a a voracious and beautiful prostitute Iri (Fabiola Nascimento) The official jury gave "Estomago" a special jury prize as well as awards for best director and best actor (Joao Miguel). The Brazil-Italy co-production also took home the audience award. "Estomago" centers on a talented cook who aims to use his culinary skills to gain power and love.

I saw this movie on the international film festival of Rotterdam, where it was rated 2nd on the audience price. Beautiful small and funny film, which you must see with a full stomach. A Brazilian / Italian co - production made with eye for detail, intelligent humor and some very funny twists, which seem to be very logical at the end of the movie. Two hours of entertainment, acted very well by all actors and a movie which will definitely find his way in all the festivals to become a major hit worldwide. I don't want to get into the story, it's one of those films who helps you to escape from the real world for a small two hours and from which you always thinks, why do i not see more movies like this? I really recommend this movie to an large audience. So go see this one, in a theater near by you or after dinner with your partner or some best friends.

This movie could've easily flown under my radar if not for Adam from YMS' recommendation, so big shoutout to him.

I was pleasently surprised by this movie, it had a lot of things that kept me interested. For one, the performances were very good, everyone seemed invested in their characters and the language barrier wasn't a huge deal to me. The sequence of events felt either believable or fitting given the movie's tone. It was quite funny, I laughed quite a few times and they were all intentional laughs. Even if some would find the female lead actor's role morally questionable, the movie still felt aware of its ridiculous premise.

There were two things that stood out to me: Firstly, out of all the performances, João Miguel's was terrific and also ambitious, with the tone being both comedic and serious, the role needed someone with enough range to pull it off, and I'm glad that he managed to do exactly that. His performance was so colorful, so nuanced, and he truly immersed himself into the character.

Secondly, Giovanni Venosta's score was well composed and it fit the film perfectly. It was also used exactly when it needed to be, and it always conveyed the tone which the movie's going for and it never felt agressive.

Visually, this movie was perfectly fine. There were some points where the shots felt motivated but lacked in execution, but nothing stood out as being poorly shot. And it's cool that compared to the other elements of the film, there wasn't such a dip in quality. Also, the ending/resolution of this film is one of the most hilarious yet messed up scenes that could've happened in this movie. I can't stop laughing at it, it was so awesome.

Anyway, good movie. Highly recommended.