Overview
- The film opens in select theaters Dec. 5 following a Cannes-lauded premiere and strong early reviews.
- Wagner Moura’s lead turn is drawing awards-season attention, with IndieWire labeling him an Oscar front-runner.
- Director Kleber Mendonça Filho describes a free-associative creative process that evolved from his archival work and centers a 1977 Recife thriller set during Carnival and military rule.
- Period authenticity extends to real locations such as Recife’s São Luiz movie house, with cinema portrayed as a clandestine meeting space and woven with genre touchstones.
- Casting director Gabriel Domingues assembled a socially precise, 1970s-faithful ensemble by mixing stars with first-time performers and avoiding contemporary visual markers.