Search - Once Upon a Time in Rio on DVD

A present-day shakespearean drama in a 3rd world setting

Vicente Del Rio | San Luis Obispo, CA United States | 02/23/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being Brazilian, and seeing no review of this movie, I felt compelled to write a few words recommending it. Excellent film about an impossible love between a poor boy and a rich girl (an inverted Sabrina-like story, if you like) with a not-so-happy ending, much like a modern Shakespearean drama set in a Third-World stage. Though predictable, the script is a very good. Good acting, fast action, very good photography. Not so impacting like the document-stylish City of God, and certainly not so chocking. But the film portraits very realistic situations and reflect the true preconceptions, the parallel universes, and the divide between social classes in Brazil and specifically in Rio de Janeiro. A perfect tale about the downward spiraling effect of poverty: once you are poor, all your universe drags you even further down with very little chances of getting hold of a life-saver. This film is a good heir to Latin American reality cinema. I strongly recommend it."