A subtle, innovative and inventive gem, Estomago can rightly be considered a small masterpiece. Taking its' cue from the inevitable connection between Food, Sex and Power - the film tells the story of a young man; Raimundo Nonato who arrives in town, on a coach bus, without a penny in his pockets and starts working as help in a bar -  sleeping in the storage room on the back, and under a cold neon light learning how to fry "pastel" and "coxinhas", outdoing his "master", Zulmiro (Zeca Cenovicz), the owner of the bar. Nonato is ignorant, but talented. He knows how to work the kitchen, soon others realize it too. The first one to notice him, is Iria (Fabiula Nascimento), a prostitute, who loves to eat, Nonato's coxinhas are enough to seduce her, she starts an affair with him, where she provides sex in exchange for food. Then, Giovanni (Carlo Briani) the owner of the Boccaccio - an Italian restaurant in the neighborhood - offers Nonato a job as his apprentice. Nonato's talent doesn't go unnoticed in prison, among his jail mates - whom we meet through a series of scenes. For the prisoners and their boss, the violent Bujiù (Babu Santana), Nonato is a savior; in fact soon their meager meals turn to a feast of exotic dishes orchestrated by Nonato's magic. As a consequence of this, Nonato is given the following the nickname, a well suited one indeed: Rosemary. How the he ends up in jail - especially, the reason behind his imprisonment - is concealed to us.  And it is this concealment, the unwrapping of this mysters that propels the whole narrative forward.

Estomago is also a very funny, very wry film. The relationship between the three main ingredients are explored cleverly, without resorting to any ridiculous speeches. The main character is ably played by Joao Miguel who gives the right sense of naivete and desire. He is an unbridled force, one which does not know how shape or control his own destiny. His one love, the prostitute Iria is also portrayed amazignly: she is a sensuous woman and this extends to her enjoyment of food - although sex is a commodity to her, food is something more sacred - the way she devours Nonato's meals is nothing short of amazing.
And of course the food! The vibrant colors in the film bring out the life in each dish we see and Nonato's ability to turn anyhing into an edible and lovely meal with nothing more than a little rosemary, some garlic and black pepper is portrayed brilliant because of this colorful cornucophia.

Estomago is a surreal ride: an amazing genre-defying film that rewards those who give it a chance. It is simply something different by showing us a side of Brazil we don't usally see in the imported films: a world of food, a world that's a million miles away from recent films like Elite Squad. and just for this Estomago deserves as wide an audience as possible.