Review of For All: Springboard to Victory

A cute light-hearted film, with non-realist and almost cartoonish elements of magic realism (the scenes inspired in advertisements from the 1940's must be highlighted) and of musical films (although not fitting that genre). While certainly not organic, or realistic, or deep, the film is charming and amusing. There are elements that could be in a heavy drama, such as war victims, political repression under Vargas regime, and Nazism, besides ruffian activity and prejudice against homosexuals, but somehow everything in the film is very light. The background is interesting: the interaction between local people in Northeastern Brazilian town Natal and military crew from the United States installed there in a base as part of the World War II. The story is inspired in a popular (but probably not true) version about the origin of the word "forró", a lovely musical style and dance from that region in Brazil. I consider as very surprising that this film is so unknown (I had never listened about it before!) given its cast: Betty Faria, José Wilker, Caio Junqueira, Paulo Gorgulho, Cláudio Mamberti, Marcelia Cartaxo, Edson Celulari, Luiz Carlos Tourinho, Cláudia Mauro...