Young lovers Orfeu and Eurydice run through the favelas of Rio during Carnaval, on the lam from a hitman dressed like Death and Orfeu's vengeful fiancée Mira and passing between moments of fantasy and stark reality. This impressionistic retelling of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice introduced bossa nova to the world with its soundtrack by young Brazilian composers Luiz Bonfá and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Tired of the constant abuse he suffers in his household, a boy runs away from home and goes on a series of sad and dramatic adventures, in which he finds the opportunity to show the power of his own voice.

Based on Kaestner's "Emil and the Detectives" tale.