An adaptation from Marques Rebelo novel, "A Estrela Sobe" ("The Star Rises") is the second feature film directed by Bruno Barreto ("O Que é Isso, Companheiro?") and starred by a powerful cast: Betty Faria,
Paulo César Pereio, Carlos Eduardo Dolabella, Odete Lara, Roerto Bonfim and featuring cameos from Miéle and Grande Otelo. Interesting enough to make any fans of Brazilian
cinema to feel curious about it. However, Barreto was too fresh and too young to helm a wide production and to transform a relative known book into something
so spectacular to be seen as a movie. "The Star Rises" is a good film but doesn't offer anything that we haven't seen before in similar themed films revolving
about a simple beautiful girl (Betty) whose biggest wish is to become a famous singer and the obstacles and the men she deals with along the way. The story is told
through a flashback from his poor and simplorious life background until meetings with a record producer and others involved in the music industry.
With heavyweight names on the production the more we see them the bigger is the disappointment since the text is too simple, situations are too cliched and
predictable - except the romance between the characters of Betty and Odete. It's obvious that she'll dump the love of her life (Pereio) for opportunistic yet
powerful men of whom she uses them as a ladder to success. The musical numbers are very good, with the main character performing several popular songs - but I'm
curious to know if the actress was the actual singer or someone's was dubbing her.
The performances are good (specially Pereio playing against type, far from the nasty guys he used to play) despite the screenplay brutal simplicity. The message isn't
much different from other movies but it's a product of its era and it's very believable, though not something most people would like to see. The road to success is tough,
bumpy and the price one pays for it can cost the destroyal of lives or relationships. Looking at this film now, the majority of female viewers won't tolerate the
ideas and situations faced by the main character or (possibly) some will regard it as a sad reality that happened and/or still happens in a misogynist world. It works as a wake-up call
to little informed people about the challenges of life when one wants to make dreams come true. 6/10
