For her début film, De Andrade drew on her own observations of life along Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. Against a decor like a picture postcard, complete with palm beaches and a bright blue sea, all layers of the population live beside and with each other. 17-year-old Rita works as a nanny for a rich blonde lady with a busy social agenda. Rita can’t take her eyes off Paulo, the surfing neighbour from across the street. Paulo is a marijuana-smoking playboy who either floats on the surf board in the sea or messes around with one of the many prostitutes in Copacabana. And he never has to pay for their services. This is a great annoyance to Tim Mais, the ladies’ tough pimp. The shy Rita is fascinated by the world of the prostitutes and jealous of the attention they get from Paulo. That’s why she signs up with Tim as a ‘courtesan’. Her stunningly attractive body and gentle character do well with clients, and she is soon the top attraction in Tim’s stables under her working name Mystery. She even manages to make Tim, Paolo and the little street kid Waldick lose their heads. The three of them will have to fight for her love. Based on this lighthearted social comedy, De Andrade also shows the less sunny side of life. In minor details, it illuminates social abuse and hypocrisy in an ironic way. (SdH)
