Opera Do Malandro

Based on a ply by Chico Buraque, OPERA DO MALANDRO crosses Brecht with Busby Berkeley, deftly exploiting the heel-kicking conventions of the Hollywood musical to scrutinize a definitive period in Brazilian history. It's 1942 in Rio de Janeiro, and a handsome young hoodlum, always dressed impeccably in white, falls in love with the convent-raised daughter of the local crime boss. Her persuades her to join him, and in an effort to con her father, obtains an enormous check in his name. Director Ray Guerra (ERINDIRA) gives OPERA DO MALANDRO the lush MGM treatment with radiant colors, gliding camera, stylized sets, and platoons of dancing extras.