In the 1910s, the challenge of exploring the mysterious "River of Doubt" in western Brazilian Amazonia brought together two 20th-century giants who, at first glance, had very little in common.
The Brazilian side of the expedition was led by colonel -- and future marshal -- Cândido Rondon, who had overcome extreme poverty and prejudice concerning his indigenous origin to become the main explorer of the Amazonian territory.
On the American side was former President Theodore Roosevelt, a son of the New York elite, bellicose imperialist, and aspiring naturalist.
The trip down the unknown river would be "my last chance to be a kid," says Roosevelt in "O Hóspede Americano," a four-episode miniseries that arrives in Brazil on HBO Max.
However, the ex-president's plunge into the forest turns out to be much deeper than a simple adventure, as it subjected him to the greatest risks and privations of his career, closing the apparent abyss between him and Rondon.
The director, Bruno Barreto, says he became obsessed with the journey of Roosevelt and Rondon, a theme that added to the interest he already had in the trajectory of the American president.
"You can sum up the appeal of this story in one word: complexity," he says. It is, he says, "a love-hate triangle between power, mortality, and mother nature."
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon