Earlier this month I caught Estômago, directed by Marcos Jorge. The film took a bunch of awards last year at the Festival do Rio and seems to have been an audience favorite wherever it has played. The story is about a seemingly naive man from the Northeast, Raimundo Nonato (played by João Miguel), who comes to São Paulo looking for work. He shows some natural talent at cooking and gets noticed by a prosperous restaurant owner, who takes him under his wing and teaches him the nuances of the finer foods. Juxtaposed with these scenes are revelations of Raimundo's jail time in the future, where he uses his culinary knowledge to ingratiate himself with his cellmates who are a little rough-around-the-edges. The film relies on the audience's desire to reconcile Raimundo's bleak future with his promising present to create suspense; on the way he falls in love with a food-obsessed prostitute who is more than willing to accept Raimundo's cooking as a form of payment.

João Miguel has made a career out of playing simple Northeasterners to perfection in Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus, O Céu de Suely ("Love for Sale"), and now Estômago. He really carries this movie and gives it heart. Personally, I would have liked the plot fleshed out to depend less on the vicarious satisfaction of seeing people prepare and eat delicious food. Doesn't everyone love a good cook? Raimundo cooked miracles time after time, and while I watched (getting hungrier by the minute) I couldn't help but think it was a little too easy.

That said, I found Estômago entertaining if not all that original, and I enjoyed Giovanni Venosta's playful score. As this is Marcos Jorge's first feature I am now very curious to see what he will do next.