The Best Things in the World (2010)
"As Melhores Coisas do Mundo" (original title)

Mano has to deal with adolescence dilemmas and his family destruction, after his father leaves their house.

Director:

Laís Bodanzky

Writers:

Luiz Bolognesi, Gilberto Dimenstein (characters),

Stars:

Francisco Miguez, Denise Fraga, Fiuk

11 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Francisco Miguez	...	Hermano 'Mano'
Denise Fraga	...	Camila
Fiuk	...	Pedro
José Carlos Machado	...	Horácio
Gabriela Rocha	...	Carol
Caio Blat	...	Artur
Renata Bastos	...	Travesti no ônibus
Lilian Blanc	...	Diretora do colégio
Maria Eugênia Cortez	...	Bruna
Célio Cruz Filho	...	Professor de educação física
Sophia Gryschek	...	Valéria
Gabriel Illanes	...	Deco
Rebeca Lopes	...	Namorada da Bruna
Brenda Lígia	...	Recepcionista da casa de massagem
Gustavo Machado	...	Gustavo

Storyline

In São Paulo, 15 year-old Hermano "Mano" and his 17 year-old sensitive brother Pedro are deeply affected by the destruction of their middle-class family when his father, Horácio, leaves their mother, Camila. Mano is still a virgin and has a crush on Valéria, an easy girl that studies in his class, while Pedro is in love with Bia for whom he has promised eternal love. When Mano and Pedro find that their father is gay and that he is the adviser of his new mate Gustavo, they feel their world torn apart. Mano's best friend is Carol, who has a crush on their Physics teacher, Artur, and they share their secrets. In their upper-class high-school, the schoolmates are afraid of the destructive "Blog of Dri Novaes" written by a snoopy mate. When Carol kisses Artur in a cafeteria things suddenly become more complicated.

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Plot Keywords:

family relationships | brazil | teenage boy | são paulo brazil | throwing eggs on a wall | 

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Brazil] Official site [Italy]

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

16 April 2010 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Le migliori cose del mondo

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gullane Filmes

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The script was written with the participation of several teenagers, from a series of interviews in schools from Sao Paulo, made by the crew.

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Connections

References South Park (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Nunca é Tarde"
Written by Leco Peres and Carol Arantes
Performed by Banda Klatu

User Reviews

For all ages!

As Melhores Coisas do Mundo (World's Greatest things) is set in the city of Sao Paulo and tells the story of a group of teenagers that are discovering the greatest and important things about life while they are growing up.

The main character (and narrator)is Hermano, or "Mano" to his friends. A 15 year old teenager (obviously) who is facing the most difficult period of his life after his parents decide to separate. This must be the abyss for anyone in such a young age. He shares this pain with his older brother Pedro (Fiuk, a pleasant surprise playing a very strong character full of despair).

Mano is a teenager like any other. He concerns about going to school, playing the guitar, parting with his friends and trying to score the most beautiful girl in school. He tries to keep his life normal even if his relationship with his parents is falling apart. His best friend is a female. Her name is Carol, a girl about his age who shares with him her feelings like being in love with her physics teacher(Caio Blat).

I am a big fan of Lais Bodansky's previous films "Bicho de Sete Cabecas"(Brainstorm) and "Chega de Saudade"(The Ballroom). I knew that she would do a decent work. What I really liked on her directing is that she used real teenagers on her cast and not 20 year old actors playing teenagers, like Larry Clark also did in Kids (1995). With the exception of Fiuk (who is now a music and TV teen idol in Brazil) the all cast is made by unknown actors.

I think this film is like a mix of Kids (1995), Juno (2007) and Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), but that also doesn't mean that this movie is not original.

This movie exposes so many subjects such as teenage sex, drugs, suicide, homosexuality, brotherhood, parenthood, friendship, love, innocence, secrets, music and the most amazing thing that I thought that was really fascinating that Lais captured here is how the evolution of technology affects the lives of us.

It's impossible to not identify yourself after watching this film, to not have a nostalgic feeling for those who went through this age or for the ones who are going through right now. You are gonna laugh and cry at the same time, but you are gonna leave the theater with a big smile.

Thank you Lais for making us proud. You proved that we don't need to show violence or nudity to do a great and beautiful film that I will never forget.