This documentary is amazing, one of the best movies I have watched as a portrayal of Brazilian culture ("culture" understood in broad sense, not only as art). The film is beautiful and moving, but also technically precise, as has a very consistent historical research and a very careful cinematography. The pace is also quite appropriate, with many interesting and moving stories and testimonies. The movie shows the history of samba and of slum (traditional Mangueira is the samba school and the neighborhood shown, but, besides being interesting itself, the film's conclusions may apply to other samba schools). It is a surprising element of the film, for most of the people, the origin of samba as something of outlaws and bums, despised by society and haunted by law enforcement officers. Situation changes as well known singers keep in touch with samba composers and record their songs. Further changes happened while middle class began to attend samba school parties in the slums and while composers who did not belong to the neighborhood because responsible for most of the songs in carnival parades. As these parades were turned into big business, also samba lost the leading role to the allegorical cars (floats). The movie worth seeing and deviates from conventional exoticism and obvious narratives.
