What it's about:
English filmmakers Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliott, The Hours, The Reader) and Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones Diary, Love Actually), join forces for this adventure thriller set in an unnamed New World city which is beset by corruption and poverty.
The film focuses on teenagers Raphael, Gardo and Rato who spend their time picking through litter in the hope of finding useful waste. However, one day they discover a leather bag whose contents will bring them into conflict with the brutal local police force as they find themselves unlikely potential whistleblowers of a corrupt system.
What the critics say:
There's no doubting a certain passion among crew and cast, most notably the trio of native youngsters whose antics provide a solid level of action-packed dramedy.
- Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter
A jaunty, gorgeously-acted thriller about three teens from the slums of Rio, who - when one of them finds a wallet in a pile of garbage - become entangled in the affairs of a corrupt mayoral candidate.
- Charlotte O'Sullivan, This is London
Cynics will scoff at a feelgood direction at odds with the real plight of Brazilian's poor...but this is about hope rather than expectation.
- Tim Evans, Sky Movies
As to the implausibly happy 'feel good' ending, maybe I was too harsh, and it's quite sweet really? No. It's properly rubbish. Won't even think about trying to be kind again. It just doesn't suit.
- Deborah Ross, The Spectator