Brazil, 1594. The Tupinambás natives are friends of the French and their enemies are the Tupiniquins, friends of the Portuguese. A Frenchman is captured by the Tupinambás, and in spite of his trial to convince them that he is French, they believe he is Portuguese. The Frenchman becomes their slave, and maritally lives with Seboipepe.
Wanderley, a young and dreamy Army parachutist, arrives in Teresópolis, a resort mountain town, to enjoy his holidays with his father, a housekeeper for a rich family. Wandering around the woods, he meets Débora, an extremely good-looking girl, but doesn't reveal his true identity, saying only he was a Prince Charming in search of a Sleeping Beauty.
The young singer Beth is torn between love for the honest pianist Guy; and the powerful smuggler Estênio, who sponsors his promising career.
A shockingly irreverent follow-up to the rural austerity of Barren Lives, dos Santos’ Godardian social satire owes more than a nod to the self-conscious antics of the French New Wave. The pampered son of a general, El Justicero is a hipster playboy who fancies himself a James Bond/Jean Paul Sartre urban hero. “Archetypical” yet “full of contradictions,” he sees that justice is achieved for the disadvantaged while taking advantage of certain bourgeois perks. His exploits are closely followed and eventually directed by his biographer who decides a film is not only more lucrative than a book, but it gives him the luxury of reviewing previous scenes. Unlike Bond, El Jus eventually experiences an awakening which threatens to compromise the entertainment value and glamour of his life story. - Harvard Film Archive
