"A lurid, romantic elegy to the denizens of the night in Brazil's biggest city, São Paulo. An anguished transvestite actor, a winsome bisexual boy, a queen of the underworld, a once-famous actress who refuses to get on the skids-they're all part of this landscape of urban night passion. The film looks like Michael Mann-meets-Pixote, and bears traces of writer-director Wilson Barros' lifetime film fanaticism-a heady mix of Douglas Sirk, Doris Day, and Christian Metz. Barros is a leader in an obstreperous São Paulo school of filmmakers who broke with the politicized tradition of cinema nova. Barros exercises his delight in film form, often toying with romantic movie cliches. He also grants his stylized, self-marginalized characters a poignant dignity in their pain and passion. Two leading Brazilian actresses excel in a hyper-elegant ensemble drama: superstar Marília Péra (the prostitute in Pixote) and Zezé Motta (lead in Xica and noted nightclub star). The ultimate star of the show is the São Paulo night." -Pat Aufderheide