Brazil

Having traveled around the world in Full Circle with Michael Palin (VL-5/98) and journeyed from the Arctic to the Antarctic in Pole to Pole (VL-4/93)—with numerous shorter stints along the way (in Hemingway country, the Himalayas, and the Sahara desert)—Monty Python alum Michael Palin heads for Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world, in this four-part series. The longstanding draw of traveling with Palin has always been his winning combination of genuine enthusiasm, unflagging curiosity, and wonderful wit, but our then-68-year-old guide seems more subdued here than in previous efforts. Moving north to south, Palin takes in a bull-baptizing ceremony in Saõ Luis, stops at a literally gold-filled resplendent church in Salvador, joins a drum group (“time for a touch of the Keith Moon”), visits the favelas where elite police forces are taking back neighborhoods from drug lords, travels to the remote outpost of Fordlandia (where Henry Ford built a failed workers' utopia—the subject of Greg Grandin's excellent book Fordlandia, which we see Palin reading), and visits with the granddaughter of the man who designed the famed Christ the Redeemer statue, which is the most iconic image in Rio de Janeiro. While there are some weird sights (including a calf with two anuses), Palin seems to spend a fair amount of time in Chamber of Commerce mode, listening to happy talk from politicians and entrepreneurs. Still, there are some wonderful moments, including Palin's funny double-take when walking past phallic-shaped art in Paraty, his ultimately successful fishing attempt to land a yellow piranha (promptly prepared and eaten as sashimi), and his comical efforts to help make bread from manioc root with Yanomami native women. Palin acknowledges that Brazil continues to face enormous problems related to social inequity, but also notes that real progress has been made, as he watches a gay pride parade attended by two million—an event that 21 years ago attracted 28 people. Likely to be appreciated by both Palin fans and armchair travelers, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)