Cited by some as the greatest of all Brazilian films, this 120-minute, silent, and experimental feature by novelist and poet Mario Peixoto, who never completed another film, won the admiration of many, including Georges Sadoul, and Walter Salles. In 2015, it was voted number 1 on the Abraccine Top 100 Brazilian films list. It is considered to be a cult film. One hundred Brazilian professional critics voted in that poll.
When Raul Schnoor is seen screaming repeatedly, the actor was instructed to keep calling director Mario Peixoto's first name out loud.
The movie was never released commercially after its premiere at the Capitólio Theater in Rio de Janeiro. In subsequent years it was shown in exhibitions and became more well known.
The film was reissued at the Chaplin Club, Rio de Janeiro, in October 17, 1931 for a special showing in homage to 'Charlie Chaplin'. Charles Chaplin appears briefly in the film in an insert taken from The Adventurer (1917).