O Primeiro Dia (1998)

A diverse assortment of Brazilians hopes that the calendar flip to a new millennium can change their lives for the better in Walter Salles’s Ariel-winning drama O Primeiro Dia (1998). Set in the last remaining hours before January 1, 2000, Salles’s arthouse drama follows individuals from Brazil’s middle class and criminal underbelly, exploring how their fears and aspirations tend to overlap. Representative of the social classes are the wealthy couple Maria (Fernanda Torres) and Pedro (Carlos Vereza) and the impetuous, seemingly dangerous ex-con João (Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos). Things really turn electric when the supple Maria starts mixing with the fray––the sex scenes between Torres and Vasconcelos are enough to make you book a flight to Rio.