In Madureira, Rio de Janeiro, in the 60's, the powerful "bicheiro" (for non-Brazilians: in Brazil, mainly in Rio de Janeiro, there is an illegal and very popular lottery of numbers associated to animals called "jogo do bicho" (game of animals), and the outlaws are called "bicheiros") Boca de Ouro (Jece Valadão) dies. Two journalists look for his former lover, Dona Guigui (Odete Lara), trying to get information of any unsolved crime committed by Boca de Ouro and make a bang news. In accordance with her mood, Guigui tells three different versions of the mysterious murder of Leleco (Daniel Filho) and Celeste (Maria Lúcia Monteiro) to the reporters.
"Boca de Ouro" was the first transposition to the screen of a successful play of Nelson Rodrigues, one of my favorite Brazilian writers. The story is indeed a film-noir, very amoral, as a trademark of Nelson Rodrigues, slightly recalling the storyline of "Rashômon" (the same event told in different versions) and directed by one of the best Brazilian directors, Nelson Pereira dos Santos. Jece Valadão is perfect in the role of an ambitious gangster, who replaces his perfect teeth by gold, and aimed to be buried in a golden coffin. I regret that this magnificent film has not had a decent distribution. My VHS, horribly recorded in LP, was released by "Isto É", and the image does not stop scrolling. There are only fifteen votes in IMDb, meaning that there is no worldwide distribution of this movie. I feel sorry for the overseas movie lovers, not having the chance to know such a great unknown film. My vote is nine.
Title (Brazil): "Boca de Ouro" ("Golden Mouth")
