Brazilian director Rene Sampaio has delivered a gritty and stylish gangster movie set in Brazil. He has combined a western undertone, which is why this film is called 'Brazilian Western'. Rolling Stone Magazine says this film is a lot like 'Romeo and Juliet'. While you may see that poetic tragedy between two people here, the film plays out a bit like 'Scarface' as well. There isn't really anything new or fresh with this story, as I'm sure you've all seen or heard this before, but it's how Sampaio tells us this story and Fabricio Boliveira's performance that really makes this film worth watching.

The film takes place some twenty years ago or so when Brazil's political and social climate where on the verge of major change. The drug trade and corrupt cops were in the spotlight, which is where we meet a young Joao (Boliveira), who is seen killing an officer of the law. Through flashbacks, we see why this took place, and how times have changed as Joao has gotten older.

Due to his skin color and poor upbringing, it didn't seem like Joao had much of a choice in what he was destined to do. It was either make furniture for low wages or get involved in the drug trade. Joao decided to do both, but when he meets a beautiful young woman named Maria Lucia (Isis Valverde), the daughter of a wealthy and powerful senator, Joao changes his mind to become straight laced.

But, a rival drug lord named Jeremias (Felipe Abib) has diabolical plans for Joao, even though he's out of the drug game, which forces Joao back into a life of violence and drugs, with nobody looking out for him. Part of this movie are difficult to watch, due to the gory violent scenes that take place with certain characters, but it never seems gratuitous.

Besides telling a tragic yet great story, Sampaio wanted to show what the political and social issues were in this particular part of the world where skin color mattered at this point in time. You can't just help but feel sorry for the characters here, because Boliveira gives us an excellent performance with Joao as he struggles to always do the right thing, but never catches a break. As the walls come tumbling down on him, we soon figure out there is no escape for him, which Sampaio plays out in true, typical western fashion.

This was the biggest disappointment I had with a movie in a long time. With a great song as the inspiration and a lot of advertising everywhere, I supposed it would be at least a popcorn-watchable movie.

I was wrong.

The badly written script doesn't let you get into any of the characters, some scenes happen too fast, others too slow (and too often, like the soap-opera style sex scenes, for god's sake!) and from the moment she gets involved with the playboy, I just had to fast-forward it. It was just too ridiculous.

A lot of gun-firing, random and unnecessary killing of people, bad sex scenes for horny pre-teens and finally, the shitty ending: a girl that gets pregnant from the arch-enemy of the main character, João, because she loves him and wants to save him from the prison that he was sent to after a super-fast arrest. Why he got arrested? Because they got caught together by her father. It was so painful I really had to write this review at 3am.

In Santo Cristo, João (Fabrício Boliveira) is arrested and imprisoned after killing the man that murdered his father. Years later, in the 80's, he is discharged and moves to Brasília to seek out his cousin Pablo (César Troncoso) to find a job. João works as a carpenter, but Pablo that is a drug dealer, offers him some money to deliver marijuana in the upper-class neighborhood. João is surprised by police raid and he flees. When he sees the architecture student Maria Lúcia (Isis Valverde) on her apartment, João climbs the building and she protects him. Soon they fall in love with each other and João decides to leave the crime to live a honest life. But the drug dealer Jeremias (Felipe Abib) that has a crush on Maria Lúcia, and his partner, the corrupt detective Marco Aurélio (Antonio Calloni), begin a war against João and Pablo with tragic consequences.

"Faroeste Caboclo" is one of the best (if not the best) Brazilian movies of 2013, with a story that is an adaptation of the lyrics of a song by the Brazilian composer and singer Renato Russo, who died in 1996 at the age of 36. The plot entwines romance, drama and action and is developed in adequate pace. The conclusion recalls the spaghetti western, where everybody dies. Great direction, performances, camera work, lighting, edition and music score make "Faroeste Caboclo" an unforgettable movie. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Faroeste Caboclo" ("Caboclo Western") Note: "Caboclo" is a mixed race of Indian and Caucasian from the countryside of Brazil.