Pereira Declares

Pereira Declares 1995

6.60

Lisbon, 1938. Mr. Pereira is the editor of the culture section of an evening paper. Although fascism is on the rise in Europe, like in nearby civil war Spain or even inside Portugal itself in the form of Salazar's regime, Pereira only concerns himself with writing bios and translating French novels. Things change after he hires a young writer as his assistant, getting to know also his girlfriend – both opponents to the regime – and reluctantly helps them when they begin to get in trouble for subversive activities. Eventually, he's forced to take a stand...

1995

In Vanda's Room

In Vanda's Room 2001

6.70

An unflinching, fragmentary look at a handful of self-destructive, marginalized people, but taking as main focus the heroin-addicted Vanda Duarte.

2001

Posthumous Memories

Posthumous Memories 2001

6.30

Free adaptation of Machado de Assis' classic. The narrator is a rich dead man, who tells us about his life and times, making fun of both.

2001

Anxiety

Anxiety 1998

6.40

An anthology film drama featuring a poetic mirror structure based on existential identity. In "The Immortals," adapted from a Helder Prista Monteiro play, two famous doctors, an 80-year-old father, and his 60-year-old son, contemplate senility and death. "Suzy," from an Antonio Patricio story, is set in the '30s when a young courtesan dies on the operating table. "Mother of the River" is from an Agustina Bessa-Luis fable about eternal life.

1998

Ossos

Ossos 1997

6.80

After a suicidal teenage girl gives birth, she misguidedly entrusts her baby’s safety to the troubled, deadbeat father, whose violent actions take the viewer on a tour of the foreboding, crumbling shantytown in which they live.

1997

Goodbye, Father

Goodbye, Father 1996

7.00

For a 13-year-old boy like Filipe, the prospect of a summer vacation in the Azores with his father is like a dream come true. But dreams are sometimes just a way to avoid facing reality.

1996

Three Bridges on the River

Three Bridges on the River 1999

7.00

Arthur is a history teacher who lives alone in Paris after having broken up with Claire. He is a sensitive man, full of existential doubts and questions. He has to go to Lisbon to meet an eminent historian whose work is the subject of his thesis. Having just made up with Claire, he decides to take her along. She's an ideal travel companion and it seems their relationship has not yet exhausted its potential. But moving from Lisbon to Oporto, their fantasy of a second honeymoon clashes with the reality of a world on the verge of a nightmare.

1999

Nelio's Story

Nelio's Story 1998

5.00

Based on the book by Henning Mankell (Sweden), this story takes place in Mozambique and is about a young boy, Nelio, who loses his entire family during a time of civil war. A wounded Nelio is found by a baker in the capital Mapouto; refusing medical treatment, the boy instead asks for sanctuary so he can tell his terrible tale. This he proceeds to do, starting with how the fighters arrived in his village and slaughtered many, to his captivity, his escape and his teaming with other orphaned street urchins to become their leader in survival.

1998

In the Shadow of the Vultures

In the Shadow of the Vultures 1998

6.20

Two simple, unassuming, apolitical men have their lives changed forever when they find themselves hunted by agents of the ruling dictatorship.

1998

Zona J

Zona J 1998

6.20

Tó, a black boy from Zona J, a tough neighborhood in Lisbon, falls in love with a white girl, Carla. Tó dreams of living in Angola and taking Carla with him. However, the reality the two teens are in complicates their plans...

1998

River of Gold

River of Gold 1998

6.50

Carolina, an aging local grande dame who works at a crossing point on the titular river, marries another late-in-life character, the dredging-boat operator Antonio. Not long after their union, she becomes intensely jealous of Antonio's fondness for their winsome goddaughter, Joana, and insinuates herself into a relationship brewing between Joana and a mystical gypsy gold salesman. Soon, tempers are flaring, mystical secrets are being revealed and death is hovering over the central characters.

1998

Women

Women 1997

4.80

Five women, all in their forties, try to find out what's important for them in life.

1997

Sinais de Fogo

Sinais de Fogo 1995

8.00

The film presents us with a reflection on the Spanish Civil War in the Portuguese society, At a time when Salazar ruled.

1995

Tentação

Tentação 1997

6.60

Father António is a priest by vocation, committed and generous, dear people of Vila Daires a quiet village of the north. But Father António is also a man, and Vila Daires is not as peaceful as it seems. The good intentions of the Father will not be sufficient to halt the worsening of the conflict. And when your fate intersects with Lena, the "black sheep" of the village, Father will also be forced to confront his own demons. Especially with those who never even thought that could exist.

1997

The Hips of J.W.

The Hips of J.W. 1997

4.40

Two actors performing in Strindberg's "Inferno" as God and Lucifer, find themselves competing in real life as well. One of them, Henrique, has spiritual obsession with John Wayne and his way of walking. He and de Dieu, his fellow actor who plays Lucifer and also directs the Strindberg play, engage in a philosophical and spiritual tug-of-war, especially when they meet an author named God, who has plans for another drama to feature both actors.

1997

Traffic

Traffic 1998

5.20

Young Jesus is taken on a vacation by his parents (Rita Blanco, Adriano Luz) to a deserted beach resort. They accidentally fall into overnight wealth after Jesus digs in the sand, uncovering a large drug stash. Others characters intersecting here include an alcoholic actress, a philandering banker, a general trafficking in arms, priests who close their church and head north as hitchhikers, politicians who watch an all-girl production of Julius Caesar, and beggars who recite a children's story in a huge heap of trash.

1998

Guardian Angel

Guardian Angel 1998

1

Lúcia is an independent woman who lives alone in Lisbon. Her father commits suicide leaving her a message on phone recorder, revealing a letter he wrote. However Lúcia can't find it in her father's house. On that visit she ends up meeting with her mother, a known political activist with whom she has a distant and tense relationship. In hope of finding the letter, Lúcia leaves to the farm where she grew up, on an isolated location. There she reencounters Álvaro, an old childhood companion, who shares a little life time he has left between roses and the piano, and the guardian angel that follows and protects her through nocturnal wanderings.

1998

Sweet Nightmare

Sweet Nightmare 1998

5.50

A dream girl can cause a lot of insomnia. That's what happens to Daniel Bricks, a young british engineer, working temporarily at the construction works of the 25th of April bridge, in Lisbon, Portugal. At the request of a friend, Daniel heads down south to make an inspection on a water dam. That's where he finds Carolina, the woman of his dreams. What he doesn't know is that she just got out of jail a few hours back, and that she will turn his life into a real nightmare. A romance comedy, where the nightmares are sweeter than dreams.

1998

The Island of Contenda

The Island of Contenda 1999

5.30

Cape Verde, 1964. At the feet of a mighty volcano, the traditional Cape Verdean society is undergoing a steady change. The old land-owning aristocracy is disintegrating. A class of "mulattos" begins to emerge, with a trade-based financial power that threatens the landlords. A new identity arises, a mix of old and new, of African and Portuguese culture, sensual and dynamic. The songs of Cesária Évora follow this inevitable transformation. From the novel by Henrique Teixeira de Sousa.

1999

Gloria

Gloria 1999

5.80

Gloria is set against the backdrop of a rural landscape slowly disappearing in modern Portugal. The small border town of Vila de Santiago, once a booming trade center for illegal trafficking, is about to become a ghost town, as a new motorway is to bypass the city and the railway station is being closed. Its stationmaster, Vincente, is preparing to retire. Many young people have moved out, leaving the children to be brought up by the elderly, including thirteen-year-old Glória and her friend Ivan. Glória's life suddenly changes with the arrival of Vincente's younger brother, Mauro, who has just come out of prison and has some old issues to settle. Mauro begins to charge around the station on his motorbike, while Glória's friendship with Ivan is put to test on account of her attraction to older Mauro.

1999