Sonia Braga shines in this transfixing drama about one woman making a stand against greedy property developers in the seaside town of Recife in north-east Brazil.

To Clara (Braga), a widowed music critic, Aquarius (the name of one of the city's most popular beaches) is her home - but to a slick property developer determined to transform the site into luxury flats it is an investment opportunity. The developers want her out, by fair means or foul, but she won't budge - despite her adult children's objections.

Stuffed with hidden meanings and echoes of the past, this is a film of beautiful subtlety, passion and sly political anger about a fierce woman who cannot be bought - whatever the price.

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