At the Festival do Rio, Rio de Janeiro’s international film festival, a restored print of veteran filmmaker Roberto Farias‘ Rico Ri à Toa / The Rich Laugh for Nothing was screened at the Cine Odeon to celebrate 10 years of the Center of Brazilian Film Researchers‘ restoration of Brazilian productions.
"I never thought that someone someday would be interested in [my movie]," Farias, 78, told the audience. "[Your presence here] reminds me of the film’s debut."
According to Edu Fernandes at UOL Cinema, Rico Ri à Toa tells the story of a taxi driver named Zé da Fubica (played by comedian Zé Trindade) who receives a large sum of money by way of a false inheritance — it’s actually stolen money. Even after moving to posh Ipanema, the cabbie keeps some of his same old habits, much to the annoyance of his wife.
Recently, Farias presided the committee that picked Lula, the Son of Brazil as Brazil’s submission for the 2010 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award.
According to the IMDb, there’s a Tiririca in the cast of Rico Ri à Toa, but I don’t think that’s the illiterate clown — also named Tiririca — that Brazilian voters have just elected to Congress.