I would like to praise a hilarious comedy starred by Grande Otelo that is incredibly contemporary as it deals with manipulating sports lottery, a hot issue in this days of widespread sports bet scandals. However, this movie is, unfortunately, two completely different and actually unrelated films (although the second one is supposedly a consequence of the first). In the fist one, Grande Otelo, the best Brazilian actor ever, made me laugh loud in a nice comedy of manners, with João Sem Direção, a hard working but rascal little black man from Rio de Janeiro, having a frantic life full of Flamengo, women and work. I will address the details below, as it does deserve. I would give this first half a 8, but unfortunately the movie turns into a bizarre chaos after João wins the lottery. The last part is a bizarre mess, a piece of bad quality nonsense surrealism, that would be rated as 3 at best. I have not much to tell about it, and I did not understand anything. I may just state that I hated both the hippie alchemist and the weird sadomasochist relationship between violent Dina Sfat' Maria Vai Com As Outras and previously ambitious and now submissive Ivan Cândido's Carvalhaes. Quite frustrating path for a film that started so well.
Turning back to the beginning, João Sem Direção is a Carioca from Madureira who, despite humble, has three wives and a huge family with one of them. In order to have money enough for the basic needs of all them, he shall work a lot. He is an employee in a gas station, but also sells cigarettes in traffic jams. He needs to control the clock everywhen, as he cannot spend too much time in any place, in order to do everything he needs. Besides that, there is his passion for Flamengo club. In order to watch the football matches, he also works as a "gandula" (ball boy). He is always wearing red and black trimmings, the colours of the team, but soon we may notice that even his underpaints are Flamengo ones too! There are many funny gags, and the then greedy trickster Carvalhaes convinces João Sem Direção to help him in a scheme involving sports lottery. Additionally, they meet a mystic trio, composed by an Indian shaman, an African-Brazilian religious ritual performer, and a frightening white woman, all of them with foreseeing powers and mysterious words, and they say João will win the lottery. Then, the adventure begins but, disappointingly, choses an awful path from the middle of the film on.
Turning back to the beginning, João Sem Direção is a Carioca from Madureira who, despite humble, has three wives and a huge family with one of them. In order to have money enough for the basic needs of all them, he shall work a lot. He is an employee in a gas station, but also sells cigarettes in traffic jams. He needs to control the clock everywhen, as he cannot spend too much time in any place, in order to do everything he needs. Besides that, there is his passion for Flamengo club. In order to watch the football matches, he also works as a "gandula" (ball boy). He is always wearing red and black trimmings, the colours of the team, but soon we may notice that even his underpaints are Flamengo ones too! There are many funny gags, and the then greedy trickster Carvalhaes convinces João Sem Direção to help him in a scheme involving sports lottery. Additionally, they meet a mystic trio, composed by an Indian shaman, an African-Brazilian religious ritual performer, and a frightening white woman, all of them with foreseeing powers and mysterious words, and they say João will win the lottery. Then, the adventure begins but, disappointingly, choses an awful path from the middle of the film on.
