Sergio Rezende was already one of Brazil's best-known directors when he took on LAMARCA, the story of a controversial Socialist/Communist activist with strong connections to Castro's Cuba. With LAMARCA, he continued elaborating on historical themes and personalities, but now on a grander scale, in what in retrospect is his first Brazilian historical epic (even if LAMARCA is pretty recent history). If you enjoy LAMARCA, move on to "Guerra de CANUDOS," (1997), the most grandiose and spectacular Brazilian film ever (as described by critics on its video cover at the time), and then to his latest spectacle MAUA, one of the most expensive historical epics ever produced by a Latin American country. In LAMARCA, he is perhaps at his best, before giving in to alleged excesses in his later work. Paulo Betti (who also starred in Rezende's subsequent film CANUDOS) is excellent in the title role.
