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Revolutionaries in 16th-century Brazil come in for close study in this 1972 Brazilian/Italian film. A group of intellectuals, with the exception of a Corporal Tiradentes, these revolutionaries plotted the overthrow of the Portuguese colonial government. In a compelling scene, an informer slips into the governor's bathtub to tell him of the group's plans. The entire group was rounded up and put in prison where, Inquisition-like, they were tortured until they recanted. Only Tiradentes refused, and was killed. One of the film's ironic moments is a shot of modern Brazil officially celebrating the dedication of this lone patriot. It is ironic, because the country was under the control of an undemocratic, strict military government at the time.