Kenoma

On the evidence of this parable on the contradictory nature of human aspiration, there's as rich a tradition of obsessive, idiosyncratic behaviour in Brazil as in Borges' Argentina. A handsome young drifter (Diaz, moody) turns up in the flaky frontier town of Kenoma ('the end of the world,' somebody at the bar volunteers). Enticed by the presence of an attractive daughter (Lima, thoughtful/dutiful), he helps madcap inventor Lineu (Dumont, eyeball-popping) with the Heath Robinson-style Perpetual Motion Machine he's been manufacturing in the barn of the local landowner these last 20 years. Director Caffé's first feature (co-written with poet Luiz Alberto de Abreu) is delicately scored and often looks beautiful, but its tragic arc seems more predictable than predestined, likewise the performances often tip over from the passionate to the mannered.