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A man running away from his problems escapes conventional reality with the help of a band of pirates in this offbeat fantasy. Manuel (Manuel Mesquita) is a musician who is short on money and behind on his tax payments. Eager to leave his troubles behind, he spies a 15th Century pirate's ship and impulsively jumps on board. Throwing in his lot with the sea-going bandits, Manuel discovers they're an unusual bunch, searching for a strange but powerful substance called plutex and possessing the ability to become invisible, adopt new languages, or fashion strange gizmos at will. But matters of principle and opinion lead to conflicts among the crew, and Manuel searches for a way to follow his own path while doing right by his friends. A Espada e a Rosa (aka The Sword and the Rose) was the first feature film from director Joao Nicolau.