The story of Analídia and Jonatha is set in Maré, a slum in Rio de Janeiro that is divided between two gangs of drug traffickers that hate each other more than their shared hatred toward the police. Whoever lives on one side of the community is not allowed to have contact with the other side under threat of punishment. Analídia is the cousin of one of the gangs’ leaders and Jonatha is a childhood friend of the other. Both study in a dance group sponsored by an NGO and directed by an ex-ballerina that is situated exactly in the middle of the two groups.
The film is a Brazilian musical openly inspired by Romeo and Juliet.