Synopsis
The emotive journey of a former schoolteacher who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.
Scores
Overall Score
65.9
Popularity Percentile (Year)
66.0%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
51.5%
Review Aggregate
90.8
Critic Consensus
Critic reception is largely positive, with 92% of 38 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize emotional, romantic, visually striking. Most critics frame the film as an effective delivery of its core style and intent.
emotionalromanticvisually strikingstylizedlightheartedupliftingcharacter-driven
Cast
| Cast | Year | Reported Salary | Inflation Adjusted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernanda Montenegro | 1998 | $223,000 | $430,000 | (est) |
| Marília Pêra | 1998 | $137,000 | $264,000 | (est) |
| Vinícius de Oliveira | 1998 | $103,000 | $199,000 | (est) |
Aggregated Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes critic score94.0
RT critic review count51
Rotten Tomatoes audience score95.0
RT audience rating count10,000
IMDb rating8.0
IMDb votes48,796
Box Office ?
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | 1998 | $5,969,553 | $11,488,642 |
| International | 1998 | $10,926 | $21,028 |
| Worldwide | 1998 | $5,980,479 | $11,509,670 |
Earnings / Profitability
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | |||
| Theatrical Net Revenue | 1998 | $2,989,147 | $5,752,732 |
| Digital Rentals ? | 1998 | N/A | N/A |
| Digital Purchases ? | 1998 | N/A | N/A |
| Physical Rentals ? | 1998 | $13,294,000 | $25,584,832 |
| Physical Purchases ? | 1998 | $18,597,000 | $35,790,667 |
| TV & Streaming Revenue | 1998 | $1,432,693 | $2,757,274 |
| Total Revenues | 1998 | $36,312,840 | $69,885,506 |
| Expenses | |||
| Budget ? | 1998 | $2,900,000 | $5,581,165 |
| Print & Advertising (P&A) ? | 1998 | $3,203,000 (est) | $6,164,301 (est) |
| Participations | 1998 | $2,905,000 | $5,590,788 |
| Residuals ? | 1998 | $2,420,000 | $4,657,386 |
| Interest & Overhead | 1998 | $580,000 | $1,116,233 |
| Total Expenses | 1998 | $12,008,000 | $23,109,874 |
| Movie Net Profit or Loss | 1998 | $24,304,840 | $46,775,632 |
Similar Movies
| Poster | Movie | Year | Match | Overall | Est. Profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Parasite | 2019 | Shared genres: 2 | 96.9 | $85,037,839 |
 | Your Name. | 2017 | Shared genres: 2 | 96.1 | $-703,056,947 |
 | The Intouchables | 2012 | Shared genres: 2 | 95.5 | $143,746,007 |
 | Life Is Beautiful | 1998 | Shared genres: 2 | 95.2 | $112,743,538 |
 | Pan's Labyrinth | 2006 | Shared genres: 2 | 93.6 | $42,403,223 |