Here is the $1 million question that every viewer of must answer: Is this film a masterpiece of transgressive cinema, or simply legal child exploitation?

note that the film uses eroticism to mirror the "corruption" of Brazil's political landscape during the 1930s, where sex is often used as a tool for power and negotiation. Directing and Cinematography: Walter Hugo Khouri is praised by critics on Letterboxd

The story is told through the memories of Hugo, an adult man looking back at a pivotal week in 1937.

The film was banned in almost every state in Brazil. It was only shown in a few art cinemas in Rio de Janeiro before being pulled. The negative was confiscated. For 15 years, it was believed that the film was burned by the government. In reality, a producer had smuggled a print to Italy. This is why the market is dominated by European imports rather than Brazilian ones.

The search for the refers to the 2003 Italian DVD release (under the title Love Strange Love or Strana Amor ) and the 2010s Brazilian restoration. These versions were the first to offer:

Originally in Portuguese; English-subtitled versions are rare and usually found through boutique cult cinema distributors.

By 2024, the English-exclusive version of Love Strange Love has been removed from major streaming platforms (including Amazon Prime and MUBI) due to updated international standards on simulated sexual acts involving minors. However, bootleg DVDs and “exclusive English uncut” torrents circulate on adult sites. The original Brazilian cut remains available on the Cinemateca Brasileira’s archival system, viewable only for research.