In 1978 on the outskirts of Recife, a city in the north of Brazil, a subversive decadent theatre troupe are rehearsing one of their most outrageous shows as the last Military Dictatorship starts to crumble. The star is Paulette a self-absorbed over-the-top drag queen and she and the motley cast perform everything from homoerotic skits (leaving nothing to the imagination), to reciting intense Marxist poetry.Into this communal group living together in a dilapidated mansion comes Finhina an 18 year wide-eyed fresh-looking innocent soldier complete with military short back & sides. The young man has come to deliver a note to Paulette whose brother is dating her sister. Mission accomplished, but before he can leave he locks eyes with Clecio the handsome bearded leader of the group, and he is a goner.
Deusa the mother of the child that Clecio fathered is annoyed that this relationship will bring their son in contact with the military, and Paulette. who seemingly had her own agenda, is jealous of the pair. Nevertheless the two men are obviously in love, and Finhina wanting to show the older man his sincerity has a C tattooed just above his heart.
This is an enormous step for the young soldier who comes from an ultra-conservative highly religious family and had previously dated a girl. He has also been under a great deal of gay-baiting at the Barracks particularly by a Sergeant who had his own latent issues to deal with. His life is a sharp contrast into the vibrant carefree atmosphere of the commune where anything goes.
Despite all the wild bawdy scenes of the totally uninhibited performers giving (and showing) their all, this is essentially a very tender love story. In this his first directing role writer Hilton Lacerda has based it all on a real famous Theater Troupe from that period, and shot it on location in his hometown of Recife. This gives it a really authentic feel to the piece, but what helps it come alive are the three central performances. Young Jesuita Barbosa is pitch perfect as the awakening Finhana, Rodrigo García, in his first ever acting role, is deliciously funny as Paulette, and famous Brazilian actor Irandhir Santos is nothing less than stunning as Cielo the ringleader.Very noticeably Lacerda makes no big deal of the fluidity of the two lovers sexuality, which is totally refreshing. He could have trimmed a good 20 minutes off the lengthy running time, but on the other hand, he couldn’t have finished it all on a better note.
The movie has won lots of Awards in Brazil and will surely delight audiences everywhere now it is available globally.
