This film is deeply steeped in Brazilian culture, which may make it inaccessible to some. It's based on a play by Ariano Suassuna, who made his life's mission to preserve Brazilian culture. If you're put off by the surrealistic religion scenes, keep in mind that this spiritualism was still firmly anchored in Brazil in 2000, along with the mash-up of African beliefs - candomblé. I loved the Laurel-and-Hardy style of comedy. The film was not short on laughs. The actors' comedic timing is spot on. The direction is totally in the style of the 20th century comedic soaps (novelas), which were (and maybe still are) wildly popular there.