Once Upon a Time in Rio (2008)

Plot Summary

Situated just above the awe-inspiring Ipanema beach in Rio is the Cantagalo slum. Every day, floods of Cantagalo residents make their way down the mountain, only to disappear into their surroundings as part of the invisible working-class that cleans apartments, works in restaurants, and sells food along the scenic, sun-drenched shores. Young Dé (Thiago Martins) is just such a man. Dé lives with his mother Bernadette (Cyria Coentro) in a cramped Cantagalo apartment, selling hot dogs on the beach in order to make the rent. His brother Beto was killed when Dé was just a young boy, and his adopted brother Carlão (Rocco Pitanga) has been jailed for a robbery that he didn't commit. One day, while working on the beach, Dé meets Nina (Vitória Frate). Nina is the only child of a successful lawyer named Evandro (Paulo César Grande), who's none to happy to discover that his daughter is dating a member of the lower class. How...

Full Cast & Characters

Thiago Martins

Dé

Vitória Frate

Nina

Rocco Pitanga

Carlão

Paulo César Grande

Evandro

Cyria Coentro

Bernadete

Luana Schneider

Cacau

Fernando Brito

Beto

Rodrigo Costa

Dé Pequeno

Augusto Zacchi

Alvaro

Kikito Junqueira

Café Frio

Jonathan Azevedo

Meio-Quilo

Guti Fraga

Seu Armando

Director & Crew

Where to Watch Once Upon a Time in Rio Online

Movies Similar to Once Upon a Time in Rio

IMDb 7.0

Agora

2009

IMDb 8.7

Gowok: Javanese Kamasutra

2025

IMDb 7.0

Bullet Ballet

1998

IMDb 3.9

Amsterdam

2009

IMDb 6.0

According to Greta

2009

IMDb 6.1

Mad Love

2001

Frequently Asked Questions