In Rio Grande do Sul, the newcomer intern Paula (Branca Messina) sees the schizophrenic Dante Becker (Felipe Kannenberg) and she decides to study his case for her graduation work in the university. She learns that Dante was left in the institution ten years ago and has been abandoned by his family, friends and even the doctors and his files are lost.
Her supervisor retrieves the name of Dante's father Gregório and the women Renê Heller (Rosanne Mulholland) and Berenice (Maria Manoella) that had visited him in the past and she interviews them to discover what happened with Dante. Like in a puzzle, she learns that Dante worked researching lands to see whether they have archaeological value. Berenice is a childhood friend that glances at him on television and seeks him out to investigate her real estate that her brutal husband Ciro wants to transform in a camping area. Dante finds an ancient bone in the location but he is forced by the violent Ciro to stop his research. Berenice asks him to forget his findings and they have one night stand. However, Dante shows his discovery to the archaeologist Renê on whom Dante has a crush, and she seduces him and convinces him to show the site. Dante fells like a dummy in this triangle of love, triggering his schizophrenia.
"Menos que Nada" is a pointless tale about mental illness and public mental health services in Brazil that is not clear in its objective. The plot goes nowhere and if the intention is to alert or to denounce the conditions of the Brazilian mental institutions, it does not work the same way of the powerful "Bicho de Sete Cabeças" does .
The characters are poorly developed like, for example, Dante's mother and her religious principles; or who is Ciro and why Berenice does not divorce him; and even the problem of Dante is also not clear (hereditary?). In the end, the promising storyline is lost in a poor screenplay. My vote is five.
Title (Brazil): "Menos que Nada" ("Less than Nothing")
