Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures

In the sertão of northeastern Brazil in 1942, a German named Johann travels the back roads selling aspirin from his truck, having left his homeland to avoid being drafted into the army. Along the way he meets Ranulpho, a rural worker hoping to escape the drought that has made life in the countryside impossible. The two men come from entirely different worlds, yet their shared journey gradually turns into an unusual and deep friendship.

Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures is a Brazilian drama directed by Marcelo Gomes, who wrote the screenplay with João Miguel and Paulo Caldas. It was produced by Maria Ionescu and marks the first feature in Gomes's filmography, followed years later by Paloma, Portrait of a Certain Orient and Dolores. Peter Ketnath plays Johann and João Miguel plays Ranulpho, with supporting roles including Mano Fialho as Caçador; the credited cast numbers twenty-one. The film runs 99 minutes.

On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.3 from around 3,300 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.9 from roughly 119 votes. The larger and higher-scoring audience sample on IMDb indicates a solid, enduring reputation among viewers, whereas the smaller TMDB sample is somewhat more reserved in its assessment.