Lima Barreto

The First Mass

Meant principally for a sympathetic audience, whether Catholic or not, this routine story about a priest's receiving the call to the cloth may be a bit slow and theatrical for some viewers. Directed by Lima Barreto, the tale is told in a series of flashbacks as the priest remembers how he was transformed as a child into a person willing to give his life in service of the church and his God. Barreto also scripted the story, which in the end, may be too filled with religious platitudes and preachy overtones to effectively convey its message.

Terra é Sempre Terra

The administrator of an abandoned coffee farm and inveterate gambler saves money to buy the property, even knowing of the loving connections between his wife and the boss.