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Reviews
Força de Um Desejo (1999)
An epic rescuing the way real soap operas are supposed to be like
Força de um Desejo (trans. Power of a Wish) tells the story of the romantic disencounters between the courtesan Ester Delamare and Inácio Sobral the baron's son, both respectively played by the stunningly beautiful and talented Malu Mader and Brazilian heartthrob and award winning actor Fábio Assunção.
Set in the 1850s, known as the coffee era, as coffee production boomed in colonial Brazil, the era is masterfully recreated with replicas of 1850s São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Ester Delamare (Malu Mader) owns the most famous brothel at Rio de Janeiro's court. Inácio (Fábio Assunção) is one of the heirs to the lands of the Baron Henrique Sobral (Reginado Faria), his father, a farmer in the region of the Vale do Paraíba, where the two farms of the story are located as well as the fictitious town of Villa de Sant'Anna. In the midst of the political and economical changes of the epoch, Ester and Inácio live a troubled romance as a result of the evil schemes by the villains of the story. Because of a misunderstanding, Ester marries Sobral, not knowing that he's the father of her greatest lover. Sobral also doesn't realize that the ex-courtesan is the ruler of his son't heart. These three characters set up the main amorous triangle on this show.
In a primarily romantic and epic drama the critically acclaimed author Gilberto Braga along with newcomer Alcides Nogueira create a wonderful story you'll won't want to miss. Directed by Mauro Mendonça Filho, a promising young director, the cast includes the infamous Malu Mader and Fábio Assunção and the award winning Natália Thimberg, Paulo Betti and Reginaldo Faria with the charismatic performances of Cláudia Abreu and Cláudio Corrêa e Castro along with the talented Isabel Fillardis and newcomer Ana Carbatti and the critically acclaimed performance of young actor Selton Mello (also starring O Auto da Compadecida).
This is without a doubt a dramatic Brazilian epic.
Andando Nas Nuvens (1999)
A comedic drama, that's a sure don't miss, great cast as well
Andando nas Nuvens (trans. Walking on the Clouds), written by soap opera writing newcomer Euclydes Marinho brings back the classic way of comedy making.
With the intuit of rescuing the charm of a modern but nevertheless romantic city of Rio de Janeiro, this show does it well.
As the title suggests this is the light and comic story of Otávio Montana, brilliantly played by Marco Nanini, a man who spent the last 18 years in a coma, with a memory only dating back to 1968. When Otávio wakes up from 18 years of sleep his three daughters have grown up, Júlia (Déborah Bloch) the oldest and now a famous journalist, Bete (Vivianne Pasmanter) an aspiring young model and Celi (Mariana Ximenes) a novice who wants to someday become a nun. The story revolves around Otávio's perception of the new world around him and Chico Mota's (Marcos Palmeira) quest to discover the murderer of Otávio's father Gregório who Otávio doesn't remember. As the main suspect, the corrupted San Marino (Cláudio Marzo) stands out as Otávio's adopted brother who now manages the family business and will do anything to yank secrets out of Otávio's past including a secret bank account his father, Gregório, had in Switzerland, not only that but San Marino had an affair with Otávio's beloved wife, the now passed away Eva.
For 18 years, Otávio Montana was absent from the world, until a medical miracle allowed for his recovery. The neurologist Lídia Libion (Helena Ranaldi), who for many years worked in London on cases such as his, of lethargic sleep - also known as "the tiredness disease"- makes him come back to life, which has been stopped for so long. The confusions and surprises that await Otávio Montana, in his encounter with his family, are shown with emotion and lots of humor on Andando nas Nuvens, Globo's seven o' clock drama, by Euclydes Marinho, Elisabeth Jhin, Vinícius Vianna and Letícia Dornelles. The show is directed by Denis Carvalho, Ary Coslov and José Luiz Villamarin.
With a stellar cast including critically acclaimed actors like Marcos Palmeira, Marco Nanini, Déborah Bloch, Nicette Bruno, Júlia Lemmertz, Vivianne Pasmanter, Cláudio Marzo, Suzana Vieira, Hugo Carvana, Milton Gonçalves, Marcello Novaes, Isabela Garcia, Otávio Augusto, Eliane Giardini and the newcomers Caio Blat, Fernanda Souza and Mariana Ximenes, this show is the certainty of an astonishingly funny, comedic and dramatic masterpiece by Brazil's greatest network Globo TV.
Overall this is an awesome show, with a great story to tell with a lot of humor as well as dramatic situations, this is a don't miss fling.
Check out Andando nas Nuvens.
O Auto da Compadecida (1999)
A drama of epic proportions with very good humor
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.
Suave Veneno (1999)
A great mystery that unfolds with unpredictable plot twists
Inspired by Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear, Suave Veneno (trans. Sweet Venom) tells the story of Waldomiro (José Wilker), one of Brazil's most famous actors.
Waldomiro was a poor man that rose to success and wealth after years of great toil as he built his mega business empire the marble supplier Marmoreal. As the mystical Inês, played masterfully by Secrets of the Sand's Glória Pires, enters his life, he is forced by his daughters led by the diabolical Maria Regina, played by talented newcomer Letícia Spiller, to resign his position as president of Marmoreal and yield his empire to Regina's greed as he is accused of being maniacal and crazy for falling in love with a mystical woman lying about her past.
This is where the plot twists as Inês proves herself to be partaking in a scheme of revenge plotted by the mysterious Clarice for shadowy reasons. Though Inês, who is really Lavínia, doesn't know why Clarice, played by critically acclaimed Patrícia França, wreaks such a diabolical revenge against Waldomiro she is now helplessly caught in a web of intrigues as she tries to prove her love for Waldomiro.
Meanwhile destiny works against them as Lavínia's family ties are incriminatingly against her.
A man before the world he created. This is the starting point for the plot of Suave Veneno, written by Aguinaldo Silva, Angela Carneiro, Maria Helena Nascimento, Filipe Miguez and Fernando Rebello, with the collaboration of Marília Garcia. The soap is directed by Daniel Filho and Ricardo Waddington and brings actors like José Wilker interpreting the main character Waldomiro Cerqueira, Glória Pires, Irene Ravache, Betty Faria, Letícia Spiller, Patrícia França, Rodrigo Santoro, Luana Piovani, Angelo Antonio, Diogo Vilela, Tarcísio Filho and a great cast.
This show started out with a promising plot full of intrigues and mysteries, however the author's misconceptions weighed it down to just another drama, however it is still a great show for curious abroad who like complex mysteries.
Suave Veneno should not be discarded, though it is not the greatest of all shows as the record low ratings indicate it is still great entertainment.
Chiquinha Gonzaga (1999)
An epic drama telling the story of the revolutionary Brazilian musician Chiquinha Gonzaga
Chiquinha Gonzaga, the miniseries, tells the story of the woman who defied the male chauvinist authority of her epoch. She set an example for the women of her era giving them newfound freedom.
In this critically acclaimed epic, real life mother and daughter Regina Duarte and Gabriela Duarte play Chiquinha Gonzaga in old and young stages of her life. Also on the cast the newcomers Danielle Winnitz and Caio Blat, and the veterans Suzana Vieira, Zezé Motta, Marcello Novaes and Carlos Alberto Ricceli, who all give great performances.
In a beautifully produced masterpiece Globo TV captures once more the essence of an era with the epic Chiquinha Gonzaga.
The revolutionary maestrine's life comes to television. The miniseries depicts a wide ranging pannel of the history of Brazilian women, their struggles and victories, depicting the surge of Brazilian popular music, that had Chiquinha as one of its precussors.
Again, don't miss this classic with Regina Duarte and Gabriela Duarte at their best. For another great performance by Regina Duarte and Gabriela Duarte, check out the drama Por Amor.