It is 1831 and the emperor Pedro I of Brazil has abdicated the throne under turbulent circumstances. He sets off on a hasty journey back to his native Portugal to face his brother, who has usurped his place on the Portuguese throne. He leaves behind his beloved country, his wife and his son. Writer and director Laís Bodansky invites us on a voyage that portrays the ruler, shrouded in the veil of a glorious past, in his ordinary humanity and vulnerability. We see the contrast between what he would and should be in his proud imperial position and how he feels. Actor Cauã Reymond strips his character of the emperor of all his royal accents, and we see the face of an insecure and confused man weighed down by overwhelming guilt. He doesn't know his place. The bold and unusual revelation of the inner workings of such a great man of history, which veers almost into madness, is handled in an experimental blending of different film and narrative techniques. Images of the emperor's past mingle with rumbling in the ship, mystical moments cut through childhood memories. The four languages we hear in the film not only approximate the reality of the time, but also multiply the worldsPedro finds himself between in the middle of the ocean. It is not necessary to know the history of Portugal andBrazil to be swept away by this fascinating story of a man's transformation during an ocean voyage.