| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Sandra Corveloni | ... |
Cleuza
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João Baldasserini | ... |
Dênis
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Vinícius de Oliveira | ... |
Dario
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| Geraldo Rodrigues | ... |
Dinho
(as José Geraldo Rodrigues)
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Kaique Jesus Santos | ... |
Reginaldo
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Roberto Audi | ... |
Pastor
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Denise Weinberg | ... |
Estela
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Ana Luiza Garritano | ... |
Bianca
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Sérgio Mastropasqua | ... |
Jefferson
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Renata Novaes | ... |
Glória
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Mário César Camargo | ... |
Genaro
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Gabriela Rabello | ... |
Dona Rosa
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Rafael Losso | ... |
Bruno
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Almir Barros | ... |
Japa
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Luiz Serra | ... |
Coach Tiradentes
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In the periphery of São Paulo, the pregnant single mother Cleuza works as maid in the apartment of a middle-class family. Each of her sons has a different unknown father: the oldest, Dênis, has a baby son that lives with his mother and he works as motorcycle courier; Dinho is a converted Christian and works as attendant in a gas station; Dario is an aspirant soccer player that is getting older without the expected chance in a team; and the youngest, Reginaldo, is obsessed about finding his father who works as a bus driver, and spends most of his spare time traveling by bus. Along the months, each brother experiences new deceptions and expectations while the family fights to survive. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Walter Salles and his longtime partner Daniela Thomas come at their best with 'Linha de Passe'. After shooting Dark Water (which I haven't seen but only heard bad things about it) and the predictable Motorcycle Diaries, Salles focused on his best ability: showing the real Brazil to the world and - even more important - to Brazilians themselves. The acting is so accurate that sometimes the movie looks like a documentary about people who strive to have a decent life despite living in a poor suburb in São Paulo. Not only Sandra Corleoni - who won the Palme d'Or
- is brilliant, but nearly everyone, even the characters who are not so
much in evidence. I would say that this the movie captures the contradictions of the urban Brazil in such a profound way that it leaves you with little else to talk about the subject. Although each character kind of represents a particular stereotype of Brazilian people, there's so much subtlety in each of them (because of the screenplay and the acting) that the plot sounds completely natural, which doesn't happen with 'Crash', the awarded American movie that 'Linha de Passe' reminds me of. In my opinion, Salles' masterpiece is still 'Behind the Sun' (Abril Despedaçado), but if a foreigner asked me to explain what's to be Brazilian, i would suggest him to watch this movie.