In the Northeastern of Brazil, the wolf traveling salesman of fabric José Araújo (Marcos Palmeira) arrives at Jardim dos Caiacós and succeeds in selling his merchandise to the Turkish Turco (Renato Consorte). He goes to a ball to celebrate the business and he meets Dualiba (Lívia Falcão), the forty and something year-old virgin daughter of Turco. He shags Dualiba and she tells her father what happened, and José Araújo is forced to marry her. When the resigned Araújo discovers that he is the motive of joke in the town, he changes his name to Ojuara and becomes a fearless lonely rider though the countryside of Northeastern to the paradisiacal São Sarué. Along his journey, his name becomes a legend that has defeated the devil and many bullies. In his romantic saga, he meets the gorgeous Jacirene a.k.a. Genifer (Fernanda Paes Leme) in a brothel; the circus acrobat in the trapeze Sue (Juliana Porteus); the evil Mãe de Pantanha (Flávia Alessandra) and her "vagina dentata" ("toothed vagina"); and the daughter of a powerful farmer Eleonora (Giselle Lima).
I loved the surrealistic Brazilian movie "O Homem Que Desafiou o Diabo". The story is totally related to the imaginary and legends in the culture of the Northeastern of Brazil, and overseas viewers will certainly miss the meaning of the regional vocabulary used by the characters that are impossible to be accurately translated. Even Brazilian viewers not familiarized with the Northeastern culture will not fully understand the words and grammar in the dialogs. Each actor and actress is wonderful and it is quite unfair to highlight individuals performances, but Marcos Palmeira is awesome in the roles of José Araújo and Ojuara (Araújo written backwards, since he is "reborn" the opposite of the happy traveling salesman). The TV soap opera and series actress Fernanda Paes Leme is astonishingly sweet and gorgeous in the role of the disputed prostitute Genifer. Lívia Falcão is hilarious in the role of a forty and something year-old woman that becomes a nymphomaniac after losing her virginity and her sequences are the funniest in this movie. The direction, story, screenplay, cinematography, locations, makeup and special effects are magnificent. The songs of the ex-Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil and André Moraes are adorable. Unfortunately the IMDb User Rating (6/10 with 155 votes) is unfair. My vote is nine.
Title (Brazil): "O Homem Que Desafiou o Diabo" ("The Man that Challenged the Devil")
