Not so good

Rating: 4/10 (21 February 2008)

One more mediocre film that is over-rated, I can't understand at all why this film is being considered a masterpiece receiving such high ratings. For me the top 250 films list of the IMDb has ceased to have any validity when it comes to deciding what films to watch, time and again I was let down. Some films in it are good but many are terrible.
I found the plot to be very muddled and shallow and the story difficult to follow due to the large number of new characters that kept appearing in the film often for a short time.
I gave it 4/10 despite the confusing shallow story because it does show the painful realities of grinding poverty in Brazil and how it even compromises the innocence of children with hard drugs and serious violence. Otherwise I would have given it just 1/10.