Caio Blat

In this portrait of a near 30-year expedition to establish a reservation for the Amazon’s Kaiabi Indians, Brazilian director Cao Hamburger works in broad strokes on a vast canvas to craft a film of epic scope, potent simplicity, and of great historical and political relevance. An underrated gem.

Set against the backdrop of the affluent beauty industry in Rio de Janeiro, this Brazilian telenovela centers on a young woman named Sofia, who witnesses her mother Cléo's unjust arrest at the hands of her ambitious aunt Lola. Angry and seeking answers, Sofia befriends the loving Paixão family, who are mourning the loss of their daughter Rebeca from a botched surgery. As Sofia and her new family learn the truth of their tragedies, they team up against the people responsible: Lola, who now runs her own beauty company, and the Argentos, the secretive clan behind a wealthy plastic surgery empire. A story of the lengths a young woman will go to for justice, Scars of Beauty (Beleza Fatal) follows Sofia's obsessive descent into the Argentos' world -- even if it means losing herself in the process.