Overview
Two clever Northeasterners navigate love and survival in a whimsical journey of tricks and dreams.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- irreverent
- warm
- lazy sunday
- group movie night
What critics said
Critics and audiences broadly regard the film as a highly entertaining and culturally distinctive Brazilian comedy with strong performances and broad popular appeal.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
João Grilo and Chicó navigate the customs, hierarchies, and popular religious culture of Brazil's Northeast.
The story's surreal religious scenes place the characters' earthly schemes within a spiritual framework of judgment and compassion.
Adapted from Ariano Suassuna's play, the film emphasizes broad performance, sharply timed exchanges, and staged comic set pieces.
Poor Northeasterners João Grilo and Chicó repeatedly rely on tricks and verbal ingenuity to survive and seek a better life.
Films like A Dog's Will, and why
The Holy Mountain
Shares exuberant folk comedy, class satire, religious surrealism, and resourceful underdog protagonists.
The Princess and the Goblin
Comparable for its theatrical origins, irreverent spiritual imagery, broad comic timing, and colorful moral fable structure.
The Full Monty
Shares warm ensemble comedy, regional cultural specificity, social inequality themes, and mischievous protagonists surviving through wit.
Movie Details
- Director
- Guel Arraes
- Release Date
- 2000-09-15
- Runtime
- 104 min
- Rating
- 8.4 / 10 (1249)
Cast
- Matheus Nachtergaele
- Selton Mello
- Fernanda Montenegro
- Rogério Cardoso
- Denise Fraga
- Diogo Vilela
- Luís Melo
- Virginia Cavendish
- Bruno Garcia
- Enrique Díaz
Common questions
- What is A Dog's Will about?
- Two impoverished Northeastern Brazilian tricksters turn wit, romance, and spiritual mischief into a vibrant comic fable about survival and mercy.
- What is A Dog's Will like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A Dog's Will as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is A Dog's Will violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in A Dog's Will as mild.
- What did critics think of A Dog's Will?
- Critics and audiences broadly regard the film as a highly entertaining and culturally distinctive Brazilian comedy with strong performances and broad popular appeal.
- Which films are like A Dog's Will?
- Films with a similar feel include The Holy Mountain, The Princess and the Goblin, and The Full Monty.
- How long is A Dog's Will?
- A Dog's Will runs 104 minutes.
