AllMovie

Director Fabio Barreto adapts Denise Paraná's inspirational biography of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the man who transcended poverty to become president of Brazil. Born in 1945, Lula was raised, along with his seven siblings, by his mother Dona Lindu (Gloria Pires) after his father abandoned the family. Growing up on the outskirts of Santos, Brazil, Lula alternated between going to school and working odd jobs to support his family. Later, in 1963, Lula graduated from the SENAI technical school, joined a union, and decided to start a family. Though his experiences in the union provided an entryway into the political arena, it wasn't until his wife and unborn son died during childbirth that Lula found the courage to become the kind of man who could lead a nation through troubled times, and earn the unwavering admiration of his people in the process.