Brazilian director Walter Salles entranced audiences the world over with his 1998 film Central Station, courting major critical acclaim and awards to boot. Salles is poised to return with Behind the Sun, which was also nominated for a British Academy award even before its release in the UK. In Behind The Sun, the modern city of Central Station has been left behind for the harsh badlands of Brazil's sugar cane country in the early nineteenth century.

Two families toil endlessly on the land, and are gripped by an age-old blood feud which has bathed both of them in misery. It shows no signs of going away as they cling furiously to the notion of honour by death. Tonio is duty-bound to avenge the murder of his elder brother— as soon as the blood-soiled shirt turns yellow in the oppressive heat. His young brother Pacu watches impassively. He is an impish, inquisitive little boy who is the centre of this story in more ways than one.

It is Pacu who first encounters a wandering pair of circus performers, the ethereal Clara and the mysterious, mercurial Salustiano. Clara presents Pacu with his first book, a moment when magic begins to be woven over this story. The two brothers steal out one night to see the circus, and Toni is transfixed by the beautiful Clara. He is struck by the needlessness of the ancient blood feud and the interminable harshness of turning the sugar mill day in, day out. But the only way for Toni to fulfil his dream of the sea and end centuries of violence is by tragedy striking one last blow.

Behind The Sun is beautifully photographed and deals admirably with the opposing themes of bitterness and a fairy-tale like sense of escapism. Salles tells this story with visual metaphors - some of which are too heavy-handed and lack subtlety, such as the ox-driven sugar mill which reflects the futility of life in the badlands and the never-ceasing blood feud which soaks both families in agony.

As in Central Station, Salles has plucked a prodigious child actor from obscurity and given him a major role. Ravi Ramos Lacerda gives an enthralling, gritty and touching performance as a boy willing to do anything for his older brother. Rodrigo Santoro is a handsome, engaging Tonio, while care-worn Mother (Rita Assemany) makes us feel the emotional torment of loss with great impact, while she is stuck in a world with no hope of release.

Salles' new outing is grittier than Central Station and with fewer light touches. But it is visually stunning and tells a tale which holds the imagination. And to watch a piece of Brazilian cinema is much more rewarding than the usual Hollywood fodder we so take for granted.

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