It's a Brazilian road-movie. A German guy sell aspirins in 1942, during the Worl War II, running way from battles. He meets a guy and started a friendship. Far from stereotypes, the director Marcelo Gomes is sensitive and treat his character with tenderness and humanity. It's one of the best Brazilian movies of the year and deserves all the praises and prizes from Cannes Film Festival, Rio Film Festival and others. A summary below:
Johann Hohenfels (Peter Ketnath) ekes out a living in rural Brazil selling aspirin through a film show that wins over the locals at any of the remote villages where he chooses to stop. On his travels he picks up Ranulpho (João Miguel) and offers him a job as his assistant. Ranulpho, escaping a desperate drought in his home province, jumps at the chance and soon the pair are making their way through the interior of the country in search of new buyers. Along the way they pick up locals looking for a ride to the next town, bicker, laugh, share stories and slowly disclose information about their past. While the men may appear isolated from civilization, their radio brings news of the war in Europe, a war that Johann has escaped from but which threatens to catch up with him. Marcelo Gomes' assured direction and Mauro Pinheiro's dreamy, bleached photography capture the eerie sleepiness of a landscape where people are few and far between and where an unlikely friendship blossoms between two intrepid travellers trying to make the most of whatever life throws into their path.
Johann Hohenfels (Peter Ketnath) ekes out a living in rural Brazil selling aspirin through a film show that wins over the locals at any of the remote villages where he chooses to stop. On his travels he picks up Ranulpho (João Miguel) and offers him a job as his assistant. Ranulpho, escaping a desperate drought in his home province, jumps at the chance and soon the pair are making their way through the interior of the country in search of new buyers. Along the way they pick up locals looking for a ride to the next town, bicker, laugh, share stories and slowly disclose information about their past. While the men may appear isolated from civilization, their radio brings news of the war in Europe, a war that Johann has escaped from but which threatens to catch up with him. Marcelo Gomes' assured direction and Mauro Pinheiro's dreamy, bleached photography capture the eerie sleepiness of a landscape where people are few and far between and where an unlikely friendship blossoms between two intrepid travellers trying to make the most of whatever life throws into their path.