One of the earliest film from Retomada (the recovery of Brazilian cinema from 1995 on), despite having been awarded, Como Nascem os Anjos is much less famous nowadays than other movies from that decade, such as Carlota Joaquina, Four Days in September, Central Station, Lamarca, Guerra de Canudos, and Quem Matou Pixote?.
It is far from perfect, as it has at least two serious drawbacks: 1) dialogues are very unconvincing, clearly written by someone far from the reality of real people who lived in the same conditions of those characters; 2) although often being praised, young Priscila Assum does not have a consistent performance, overacting in a way that undermines the general outcome as her role is in the core of the movie.
On the other hand, also debuting Silvio Guindane has an extraordinary performance, in the very same level of City of God's casting, and deserving the awards he conquered. He even dances!
The script, almost in the style of a theatre play, is also nice, combining comedy of errors with social drama.
Important issues are addressed, such as: Brazilian dazzle with the United States and what is foreign, child marriage, the mortality of poor youth from slums, family abandonment, the presence of religion in poor communities, and so forth.
It is far from perfect, as it has at least two serious drawbacks: 1) dialogues are very unconvincing, clearly written by someone far from the reality of real people who lived in the same conditions of those characters; 2) although often being praised, young Priscila Assum does not have a consistent performance, overacting in a way that undermines the general outcome as her role is in the core of the movie.
On the other hand, also debuting Silvio Guindane has an extraordinary performance, in the very same level of City of God's casting, and deserving the awards he conquered. He even dances!
The script, almost in the style of a theatre play, is also nice, combining comedy of errors with social drama.
Important issues are addressed, such as: Brazilian dazzle with the United States and what is foreign, child marriage, the mortality of poor youth from slums, family abandonment, the presence of religion in poor communities, and so forth.