This Brazilian series is set in the city of Rio de Janeiro; in particular in a crowded favela known to its inhabitants as 'The Hill'. We mostly see this world through the eyes of teenage boys Acerola and Laranjinha. Each of the episodes sees them getting into various escapades... often with the ultimate intention of getting together with girls or schemes to earn some money.
When I started watching this I expected it to be rather downbeat but despite the fact that the Favela is shown as a dangerous place we see that despite their poverty our protagonists have a certain Joie de vivre... some episodes compare their lives to the 'playboys', children from wealthier parts of the city, and we see that there are many similarities. The way the series is shot on hand held cameras in the favela makes what we see seem very real... taking us into this world without feeling like the televisual equivalent of 'poverty tourism'. Each episode provides a good self-contained little story which features plenty of unforced humour. The cast are impressive; most obviously Douglas Silva and Darlan Cunha as Acerola and Laranjinha but also secondary cast members; they may not be as polished as one would get in a Hollywood production but they feel like real people. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to anybody looking for something a little different... my only disappointment was that the UK DVD only included the first two seasons.
These comments are based on watching the first two seasons in Portuguese with English subtitles.
When I started watching this I expected it to be rather downbeat but despite the fact that the Favela is shown as a dangerous place we see that despite their poverty our protagonists have a certain Joie de vivre... some episodes compare their lives to the 'playboys', children from wealthier parts of the city, and we see that there are many similarities. The way the series is shot on hand held cameras in the favela makes what we see seem very real... taking us into this world without feeling like the televisual equivalent of 'poverty tourism'. Each episode provides a good self-contained little story which features plenty of unforced humour. The cast are impressive; most obviously Douglas Silva and Darlan Cunha as Acerola and Laranjinha but also secondary cast members; they may not be as polished as one would get in a Hollywood production but they feel like real people. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to anybody looking for something a little different... my only disappointment was that the UK DVD only included the first two seasons.
These comments are based on watching the first two seasons in Portuguese with English subtitles.