O Auto da Compadecida

This is one of the best, if not the best, mini-series from Brazil. I haven't seen the subtitles, but it would be very hard to translate and keep the comedy intact, but it is worth seeing it. Every actor is the right choice for the role. The two main characters are excellent actors. One of them is a compulsive liar and the way his lies are depicted is even funnier than the lies. Oscar-nominated Fernanda Montenegro has a cameo appearance as Compadecida, the same role she played over 30 years ago in the theater. Don't miss it!

In a mega production by the Globo TV Network Brazil, O Auto da Compadecida based on the homonymous play by the Brazilian novelist and playwright Ariano Suassuna, actors like the newcomers Matheus Natchtergaelle and Selton Mello together with a cast of veterans like Fernanda Montenegro, Marco Nanini and Diogo Vilela unite to perform an epic.

Though maintaining the popular style of the original writer this TV adaptation does not disappoint the fans of the original writer as this 4 hour series captures to perfection the universe so masterfully crafted by Ariano Suassuna.

In hilarious situations Selto Mello and Matheus Natchergaelle reveal themselves to be promising young actors of their generation with great performances.

The adventurers of a poor lie-telling country man, called João Grilo, narrated in the award winning play Auto da Compadecida, by the novelist and playwright Ariano Suassuna, come to television in an adaptation by Guel Arraes, Adriana Falcão and João Falcão. Originally written in 1955, the play is presented as a microseries, in four episodes, and premiered on Tuesday, January 5th, 1999. The series was directed by critically acclaimed Brazilian director Guel Arraes, who shot the series entirely on film, shooting in Cabaceiras, on the countryside of the Brazilian state of Paraíba (the play takes place in Taperoá, close to Cabaceiras) and also at the Projac and Cinédia studios, in Rio de Janeiro. The show had its own soundtrack also, produced by João Falcão, and a visual setting that establishes a parallel line between the 1930s and the Middle Ages.

Overall this great show broke ratings records in Brazil and in other countries where it also aired, appealing to all publics and social classes.

This is a don't miss Brazilian drama at its best.

Everything is good in this adaptation, I like it better than the book

The Movie talk about two poor men's history, who've lived in northeast Brazil. They are called João Grilo and Chicó.

The plot happens in the "Sertão" (a region in northeast Brazil, very poor due to water shortage, and as a result of that, lack of food too).

The period portrayed in the movie is historical for Brazil, because tells about the "cangaceiros" - rebels who've looked for justice due to social inequality - who threatened Brazil's northeast.

The movie show, with a lot of humor, the way that João Grilo and Chicó have survived without money and prestige in a totally segregate society.

It's a movie that, at the same time, is a comedy and a drama.

This is surely one of the best brazilian productions ever. The story is very original and all actors are just fantastic. Fernanda Montenegro does a great job as the "Compadecida", although she doesn't play a leading role. If you like sense of humor mixed with a little bit of drama this is the right thing to watch.