Based on Érico Verissimo's literary trilogy, The Time and the Wind follows 150 years of the Terra Cambará family and their opponents, the Amaral family. The struggles between the two families begin in the missions and lasts until the end of the 19th century. The film also features the period of formation of the state of Rio Grande do Sul and the dispute of territory between the Portuguese and Spanish crowns.
"In the 1970s, Brazil - and much of the rest of Latin America - was ruled by military dictatorships. O amigo Dunor (the friend from the North) is not only set during these 'years of lead', it looks as if the film comes directly from that, as if the cans of film have only recently been found in someone's cellar. ... Marcel, a young French writer, comes to Brazil to fulfill his childhood dream: to get to know exotic Brazil, go to the Amazon and write a book about his experiences. After his arrival in Rio de Janeiro, he quickly makes friends with a group of people working on a crime thriller. Stan is the director of this film, his wife Carla and her daughter Melissa act in it. Julio, an Argentine refugee, is the scriptwriter. This film in the film is about the blind Louis and the handicapped Marta, a married couple with many problems in their relationship and with money … inter-cut with the world of Marcel and his new friends..” - IFFR
