Bawdy and irreverent auteur Monteiro reprises his role as João of God. The loveable and lustful tramp is granted ultimate wealth and earthly power; João's meteoric rise and cataclysmic fall from grace unfold in a formal display of slapstick, satirical, deadpan humor. All along the way, Monteiro never misses an opportunity to jibe and jape at church and state. Monteiro's spry physical humor recalls the great silent film stars, but his comic timing is truly his own invention. His drawn visage and emaciated frame contrasted with the luminous bloom of the exquisite Elena (Joana Azevedo) form the film's sexually explicit centerpiece in which the lovemaking either never begins or never ends, depending on which way you look at it.