"Toda Nudez será Castigada" is a good film and a very interesting one, especially for those that are not acquainted with Nelson Rodrigues's universe.
As for me, having read as a teenager many Nelson Rodrigues's plays I feel that this could have been a memorable film if a top-notch director had filmed it. As it is, the merits of the film lie much more with Nelson Rodrigues than with the film per se.
Nelson Rodrigues is the most important playwright of Brazil and one of the greatest in the world (if he is not better known in the rest of the world, this can be partly attributed to the language barrier). His plays portray the petite bourgeoisie and its conventions - the characters live tragic and insane lives in order to keep up appearances and follow social conventions - melodrama, comedy and surrealism .
Arnaldo Jabor is a good director. "Toda Nudez será castigada" manages to give us a good view of the world depicted by Nelson Rodrigues. The film's decor is excellent and the same can be said for the soundtrack, but the camera work doesn't help that much in building up the atmosphere, the editing is somehow slack and the acting is good, very good sometimes, but it could have been wonderful in the hands of a really talented director.
Many Nelson Rodrigues's plays (and books) have been filmed in Brazil. Some of them (that I remember) are "A Falecida" by Leon Hirszman, "Boca de Ouro" by Nelson Pereira dos Santos, "Perdoa-me por me traíres" by Braz Chediak, "O Casamento" by the same Arnaldo Jabor etc..
