Time Out NY
[ Four Stars ]
Dir. Tata Amaral. 2006. PG-13. 90mins. In Portuguese, with subtitles. Negra Li, Cindy Mendes, Leilah Moreno.
Tata Amaral’s third film romantically chronicles a female rap quartet’s search for showbiz success in the outskirts of São Paulo. Led by the defiant Preta (Li), these lullaby-delivering, Brazilian hip-hop divas-in-the-making provide ample warm and fuzzies through solid amateur performances until relationship drama, jail time and a couple of murders dare to divide the childhood BFFs. Visually vibrant, this memorable movie gratifies with fresh, modern girl power. (Opens Fri; see Now Playing for venues.) — Cherie Dennis