Hour of the Star

“Played with extraordinary unselfconsciousness by Marceila Cartaxo,” (Janet Maslin, The New York Times), Macabea is the poster girl of social na+¯vet+ª; she works inefficiently and, by common standards, is unattractive and unqualified. Interning as a typist next to the savvy city-girl Gloria (Tamara Taxman), Macabea naively fantasizes about marriage with the uncaring Olimpico (Jose Dumont), a steel worker and fellow immigrant, while struggling to learn the social norms that could secure her dream life. Macabea’s fate turn even darker when her co-worker Gloria hires the fortune teller Madame Carlota (Academy Award nominee Fernanda Montenegro). After listening to the Gods, Gloria discover that she must steal a friend’s boyfriend and pass her bad karma to another woman.