"Frank, a (HIV infected) former Lufthansa steward, goes back to Rio from Germany with a film crew to look for Mario, a young man with whom he had a one night stand. Before Mario departed the morning after, he left a message scrawled in soap on the bathroom mirror: 'Welcome to the AIDS club'. Frank and his director hire a fast talking huster named José (Guilherme di Padua) to help them to find Mario who seems alway to have just left whenever they arrive. Via Appia (is) the nickname of a Rio district where male prostitutes hang out..."

Vincent Canby, NEW YORK TIMES

Theatrical start of VIA APPIA at NYC Village East Multiplex, Summer 1992