One of the last films in the legendary Manoel de Oliveira’s erudite and richly rewarding filmography is a haunted love story very close to his heart. Written in the Portuguese director’s youth but directed in old age, the film combines romance and fear, photography and truth, and life and death.
A small masterpiece from one of cinema’s great miniaturists, this exquisite short feature by Manoel de Oliveira is based on based on the short story by Portuguese writer Eça de Queirós. This sumptuous tale honors the sublime ardor and mysteries of love, unraveling the true image behind the fantasy.
If only all omnibus films were this good! When Guimarães was the European Capital of Culture, it commissioned this luminous gathering of visionaries: Aki Kaurismäki, Pedro Costa, Victor Erice, and Manoel de Oliveira. Wry, mournful, inquisitive and comic, they delve into Portugal’s soul.
