In a role that won him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival this year, Moura plays a university researcher who comes under scrutiny from the Brazilian dictatorial regime that governed the country from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Set in 1977, the film is a colour-saturated, evocative portrayal of the period and throws into relief how normal people are affected by the vice-grip of authoritarianism. With fantastic supporting performances from an ensemble cast, and unnerving elements such as the vain and corrupt police who wield way too much influence, the film expertly weaves between the personal and the political.

With more than a nod to cinema of the 1970s, this is a beautiful and bittersweet film with a historical story that seems firmly rooted in the present.