AllMovie

Every country seems to have its own gallery of criminal legends, those outlaws, highwaymen, gangsters and defiant rogues who capture the public's imaginations and whose exploits become legends. In Brazil, there are the infamous cangacieros of the 1930s. These notorious bandits and desperadoes terrorized the northeastern part of the country for many years. Lampiao was the most notorious bandit king and his bloody deeds led the Brazilian government to launch a massive military search for him. Search as they might, the armies could not catch up with the wily crook and his band. But where they failed, a humble documentary maker from Lebanon named Benjamin Abrahao succeeded. Not only was he admitted to Lampiao's secret camp where he documented the robbers' daily life; he also managed to film them in action. Abrahao's invaluable footage is still used in films about the cangacieros. This fascinating and sometimes very violent drama recreates Abrahao's experiences with the bandit culture. It also chronicles the determined filmmaker's tragic fate after his film was released. Despite the downbeat ending, the story is ultimately an uplifting account of a determined social outcast who defied the odds and proved himself a true hero. Some of the "archival footage" used in this film is brilliantly faked.