Very thoughtful and professionally made movie
From the very first minutes of this movie you clearly understand how professionally it was made. Perfect photography and director's work! I tend to think that this is due to the producer Bruno Barreto.

There's a simple story with a few turns. You'll find a lot of Brazilian country landscapes here and meet local culture.

After viewing this film I felt a little sad because such a large and beautiful country with such good people and rich culture is so poor. This movie won't thrill you, but it will make you think and feel instead.

Disapointed
I am from the Northeast of Brazil and I expected a better movie. The accent of the actor sounded fake. The are from the southeast of Brazil and did not work well on the accent. The movie as a caricatura.
Next time I will stick with "Auto da Compadecida". Much better.

the middle of the world
from what I understand this wonderful little movie is based on a true story told by a family who makes us realize how important love in the family unit is, even with the normal odd disagreements which is only human. It gives you strength to endure, courage and hope. Loved Roberto Carlos music.

family road trip
Which is more important, the journey or the destination? Romao is an illiterate and unemployed man with a wife and five kids, but he believes in destiny. "My true destiny is on the road," he tells anyone who would stop him from taking his family of seven on a six-month, two thousand mile bicycle journey across the heart of Brazil to Rio de Janeiro. There, he believes, he will find work so that he can feed his family. People think he's crazy, of course, including his family. They panhandle, do odd jobs, sing songs at restaurants, meet people both evil and good, and sleep in abandoned buildings and rusted out buses. But they love each other deeply and experience many life lessons, especially the adolescent Antonio who is turning into a young man. This film, "based upon a true story," won at least five festival awards, all of them deserved in my opinion. In Portuguese with English subtitles.

arid norttheast landscapes thro a bittersweet lens
Apart from being a good road film (landscapes, transience etc), the lead actors have nicely portrayed the machismo that rules most latin american and asian societies. good soundtrack, imagery, and having been in brasil recently, i was taken back there, to the endless horizons, red roads and dusty bus stations.
i'd buy it if i could afford the steep price.