Natal da Portela (1988)

Synopsis: The real story of Natal, one of the founders of the Portela School of Samba, in Rio de Janeiro. From a poor background, he lost one arm in an accident at a young age. He later became a bookkeeper of the "Jogo do Bicho" (numbers game with animals standing for numbers), and that made him a wealthy man, at least for a while.
Appraisal: This is not a great film, perhaps. It is imperfect. It is mostly shot with a static camera, and the production values don't compare to Hollywood ones. But it has enough of the essential qualities a film should have, such as a good story and a screenplay that tells it intelligently and heartwarmingly; it also has good actors (most of them anyway). The staging is stylized in a sort of primitivistic way, that does not aim at realism. At the very least, its subject matter is very important for Brazilians; it has to do with the cultural history of Rio de Janeiro and, perhaps less so, of other Brazilian cities as well.
Rating: 60