Meant principally for a sympathetic audience, whether Catholic or not, this routine story about a priest's receiving the call to the cloth may be a bit slow and theatrical for some viewers. Directed by Lima Barreto, the tale is told in a series of flashbacks as the priest remembers how he was transformed as a child into a person willing to give his life in service of the church and his God. Barreto also scripted the story, which in the end, may be too filled with religious platitudes and preachy overtones to effectively convey its message.
Short Story
Camillo Mastrocinque foi um dos muitos estrangeiros que andaram por estas bandas fazendo o nosso cinema, na década de 1950. O diretor de melodramas na época do fascismo italiano dirigiu este Areião (Inca Film, 1952) que poderia ter poupado Maria Della Costa. O filme recebeu o nome de La priggione di sabbia, para concorrer ao Festival de Veneza, mas foi recusado." (Cedoc/Funarte, cit. in. DD/CD) (Cinemateca Brasileira)
