Written by Miguel Gomes and Mariana Ricardo
Starring Teresa Madruga, Laura Soveral, Ana Moreira, Henrique Espirito Santo and Carloto Cotta
Portugal/Germany/Brazil/France, 2012
A love story told in two parts – the first in present day Lisbon, in which a woman becomes involved with her elderly neighbor and the neighbor’s care taker, and seeks out an old acquaintance on behalf of her neighbor during the last days of her neighbor’s life. The second takes place in 1960s Portugese Africa and tells the tale of the neighbor when she was a young woman and had an affair that led to tragedy on the eve of a colonial war.
This film is beautifully shot in black and white and plays out like a classic of cinema. So how come no one’s ever heard of it? I mean I guess enough people have heard of it to get it on some best-of lists and into the video store, but it’s a shame it has gotten so little exposure. It moves a little slowly, but if you let yourself be pulled along by its narrative as it unfolds, you’ll be rewarded.
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