"Estômago" is director Marcos Jorge's second feature film, but the first to be released (his feature debut, "Corpos Celestes", still awaits distribution). It's based on Lusa Silvestre's short story "Presos pelo Estômago" and tells the story of Raimundo Nonato, a destitute Northeast peasant who migrates to São Paulo and discovers that his talent for cooking may guarantee his survival in the big town and open doors to power and sex, but also crime.

The film unfolds in two parallel, cross-cutting narratives (linear story-telling is a "disease" to be avoided in 2000s cinema, it seems): 1) Nonato's rise from underdog aid in a cheap, fly-infested snack joint, exploited by sweaty boss Zulmiro, to becoming the protégé of sophisticated Italian-cuisine chef Giovanni, meanwhile falling in love with voluptuous and voracious prostitute Iria; and 2) Nonato's life in prison (we only know why he got there in the end of the movie),trying to learn the codes, rules and peculiar hierarchy of jail life, as he struggles for survival and "social-climbing" through his cooking talents.

There are countless influences/references at play here, from "La Grande Bouffe" to "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover", from "Jamón Jamón" and "Tampopo" to "Babette's Feast". But the flavor of "Estômago" is essentially Brazilian, thanks to main character Nonato. He escapes from being a caricature (the naive, ignorant, good-natured, not very bright Northeast hick) solely through the irresistible empathy, perfect comedy-timing, quick wit and stray dog quality of João Miguel's performance (he won the Best Actor award in Rio's 2007 International Film Festival for this role). He's got one of those endlessly watchable faces: we can follow his every little thought, and as fast as he wishes us to. He makes the film stand firmly on track even when the direction strays through lull spots, hesitations and contrivances, and he delivers his burger-quality lines as if they were caviar. In barely 3 years and a half-dozen films, João Miguel proves to be one of the most likable and resourceful actors working in Brazilian movies right now.

You can tell João Miguel's towering contribution to the success of "Estômago" if you consider how everything else in the movie is just average: the script tries too hard to be smart and squeeze the laughs out of the so-so jokes. There are overlong, repetitive scenes, and most of the actors are directed to play types, not characters -- Babu Santana once again does his trademark angry-bulldog gangsta role; Fabiula Nascimento is shamelessly exploited for her opulent Fellinian body rather than her acting talents; Carlo Briani (as Giovanni) and Zeca Cenovicz (as Zulmiro) give stagy performances.

Some other aspects are rather annoying, such as the totally misconceived Morricone- inspired music by Giovanni Venosta ("Pani e Tulipani"); the terribly fake hookers (they're the sweetest, happiest street whores ever); the phony prison inmates (it's got to be the whitest- populated prison in Brazil); and the idiosyncrasies involving "l'art de la cuisine" -- it's hard to believe that a sophisticated Italian chef would find Nonato's salty and cholesterol- friendly cooking (typical of Northeast Brazil) so sublime, or that Nonato could "leap" from being an expert in greasy Brazilian snacks like "coxinhas" and "pastéis" to master the complexities of correctly cooking meat and pork by being a trainee in a pasta-specialty restaurant.

* SPOILER * But most annoying of all is the denouement. Striving for a "witty ending", the director and the writers withhold important changes that should have been in process in Nonato's character just for the sake of taking us by surprise; nevertheless, it's a cliché, pseudo-smart ending. If the goal was to tell a story about how a bon sauvage is corrupted by society and ends up learning to be a smart-ass by using the same weapons as his oppressors, the preparation and transformation in Nonato and the arc in João Miguel's acting are missing (whose fault is that? The actor's, the script's, the director's?). As it is, the resolution feels blunt and over-reaching, like an under-baked, artificially colorized dessert that somewhat spoils the honest, simple, home-made meal that came before it. * END OF SPOILER *

Anyhow, "Estômago" certainly deserves to be seen: its communication with the audience is evident, it has truly funny moments, and João Miguel's winning performance is the very special ingredient that makes the recipe irresistibly tasty.

I saw this movie on the international film festival of Rotterdam, where it was rated 2nd on the audience price. Beautiful small and funny film, which you must see with a full stomach. A Brazilian / Italian co - production made with eye for detail, intelligent humor and some very funny twists, which seem to be very logical at the end of the movie. Two hours of entertainment, acted very well by all actors and a movie which will definitely find his way in all the festivals to become a major hit worldwide. I don't want to get into the story, it's one of those films who helps you to escape from the real world for a small two hours and from which you always thinks, why do i not see more movies like this? I really recommend this movie to an large audience. So go see this one, in a theater near by you or after dinner with your partner or some best friends.

The naive immigrant from the Northeast Raimundo Nonato (João Miguel) has just arrived in São Paulo and is hungry and without money. After eating in a smalltime restaurant, the owner Zulmiro (Zeca Cenovicz) offers him to clean the kitchen to pay the bill. On the next morning, he offers a job to Nonato, cooking and cleaning the kitchen; in return, he would eat and sleep in a small storage room, but without salary. The restaurant becomes a sensation with Nonato's appetizers "coxinha" and "pastel" and attracts the attention of Giovanni (Carlo Briani),the owner of the classy Italian restaurant Boccaccio, who offers a better job for him in the kitchen of his restaurant and teaches him the secrets of a good meal. Meanwhile, Nonato falls in love for the always hungry fat streetwalker Íria (Fabiula Nascimento),who refuses to kiss Nonato in the mouth, but has all sort of sex with him. Nonato proposes her and near to the day of their engaging party, he has a great deception that leads him to a tragedy.

Raimundo Nonato a.k.a. "Alecrim" arrives in prison and shares a cell with seven prisoners leaded by Bujiú (Babu Santana). When the despised Nonato offers to improve their food cooking in the cell, he climbs in the inner hierarchy, sleeping no longer on the floor, but in the bunk bed immediately below Bujiú and earning respect from the other inmates.

Food and cooking is the theme of many successful movies, like for example, Marco Ferreri's "La Grande Bouffe" (1973),Gabriel Axel's "Babettes Gæstebud" (1987),Peter Greenaway's "The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover" (1989),Tony Chan's "Combination Platter" (1993),Fina Torres'"Woman on Top" (2000) and Scott Hicks' "No Reservations" (2007),just to mention a few movies. There are countless good movies and series about relationship and hierarchy in prison, and "Prison Break" is probably one of the most recently famous. Therefore the theme of "Estômago" is not original but is commercial since viewers usually like it; further most of the characters are clichés. However "Estômago" is literally a delightful movie, supported by the great acting of João Miguel that is the reason why this movie works. The two parallel stories have the intention to hide the chronology and unfold only in the very end what had happened first, but unfortunately it fails and the only remaining question is why Nonato ended in jail. In accordance with the summary on the DVD, the conclusion is that in life there are those who devour and those who are devoured, but Raimundo Nonato finds an alternative way of life cooking. Two days ago, "Estômago" had fourteen nominations and was awarded by the Academia Brasileira de Cinema ("Brazilian Academy of Cinema") in the categories of best Brazilian movie of the year, best director and best supporting actor and was elected best movie by popular vote. On 28 April 2009, I watched this movie again. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Estômago" ("Stomach")