User Reviews

I was almost a teenager when this movie was produced, and I eagerly waited for it, so curious I(a Brazilian) was about a Brazilian film FINALLY in color. Yet, the result was a deceiving. By that time, Brazilian motion picture comedies were mostly produced in Rio, especially by a studio named Atlântida (Atlantis in English).All were black-and-white, poorly written,stories were mostly fragile and almost an excuse to present tens of songs for the next carnival. However, they were very funny due to the uniqueness of the mix involving primitiveness and some witty dialogs and some splendid comedians.One of them, Oscarito,knew so much his job, that once he suggested ten seconds of random closes on a scene, after one of his jokes. That was the exact time the audience would laugh after it. Nevertheless Brazilian intelligentsia, of course, despised such films. So when more modern (and "intellectualized")films began to be produced around São Paulo area, especially by the Vera Cruz studios, there happened a boom of "sophistication" as to screenplays. Naturally attempts to do sophisticated comedies were done and "Destino em Apuros" is a good example.But it wasn't from Vera Cruz studios but from Multifilmes a much more modest studio. I hardly remember the story, but it was something about Destiny, that in a human body, comes to Earth and does something about a certain man's life. But awkwardly he, Destiny, comes to a dilemma in order of what to do next. So the Destiny is in trouble. Despite its sophistication the film was neither a box hit, nor got to make people laugh as they did while watching Atlântida comedies, as mentioned above. Presently the film is almost lost, so damaged the negatives are.It seems a trailer is preserved in the Brazilian Cinemathèque in São Paulo. Only. Reviewing the cast, thanks to your homepage and URL, it's a surprise to me to find people I never imagined or remembered to be in this film and who became famous artists through the years on Brazilian stage, television and movies. Paulo Autran and Sérgio Britto are good examples,still active although very mature. But believe me, 85% percent of the cast enlisted is composed of important names in Brazil's artistic circles. Anyway this could lead us to the following conclusion: as refined ingredients are not enough for making a good cake (one needs a good recipe first) a good cast and some sophisticated techniques are not enough in succeeding to make a good movie. A good screenplay and director are needed... And thanks for just one detail: fifty years after I finally discovered that the color process was Anscocolor. I never had this information in Brazil before. And that perhaps explain the further quick deterioration of the negatives: the old Ansco color films had the fame of being good from the start but then quickly deteriorated. MGM used them (Knights of the Round Table,Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,Ride Vaquero, The Student Prince, Kiss me Kate, Brigadoon) but quickly moved to Eastman Kodak color negatives. Sometimes with a Technicolor print to preserve them better.