Christopher Columbus - The riddle
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Christopher Columbus - The riddle |
| Original title | Cristóvão Colombo - O Enigma |
| Country of production | France , Portugal |
| original language | Portuguese |
| Publishing year | 2007 |
| length | 75 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Manoel de Oliveira |
| script |
Manoel de Oliveira Manuel Luciano da Silva Sílvia Jorge da Silva |
| production |
Maria João Mayer François d'Artemare |
| camera | Sabine Lancelin |
| cut | Valérie Loiseleux |
| occupation | |
| |
Christopher Columbus - The Riddle (original title Portuguese Cristóvão Colombo - O Enigma ) is a film by the Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira from 2007.
action
As a doctor, Manuel Luciano follows his father and his brothers to the United States, where he follows the traces of Portuguese voyages of discovery in his free time. His honeymoon also takes him to the Cape of Sagres , the starting point for those voyages of discovery. In the years that followed, the couple visited more and more stations that support the theory that Christopher Columbus was Portuguese. You visit u. a. also Cuba , a small Portuguese town in the Alentejo , where Columbus is said to be born, and after which he is said to have named the island he discovered in the Caribbean. At the end you will visit the island of Porto Santo (near Madeira ), where Columbus lived.
reception
On the one hand, the film is Oliveira's declaration of love for his wife, for the history of Portugal, and for culture and human history and their global interweaving. On the other hand, it is also the film adaptation of the book by Manuel Luciano da Silva and his wife ( Cristovão Colon (Colombo) era Português , Christoph Colon (Columbus) was Portuguese, 2006). There the theory is presented that Columbus was called Colon during his lifetime and was only called Columbus through falsification of history. He was born in the small town of Cuba, in the Alentejo, as an illegitimate son from the royal family. A number of both valid evidence and hypothetical derivations are given, which are shown or represented in the film.
“This film is neither scientific nor historical, nor is it autobiographical in nature. Rather, it represents a kind of romanticized fiction that evokes the memory of the great achievement of the seafaring discoveries. In this film, the news is presented that Christopher Columbus was indeed of Portuguese origin, born in the small town of Cuba in the Alentejo. For this reason, Columbus named the largest Antilles island he had discovered after his birthplace, Cuba. "
The critics praised the precision and the attention to detail, but also the melancholy mood that resonates in the film and the quiet humor.
The film premiered on September 6, 2007 at the 64th Venice International Film Festival , out of competition. In Cuba , where the film celebrated its commercial premiere on January 10, 2008, it was received with particular interest.
See also
literature
- Manuel Luciano da Silva, Sílvia Jorge da Silva: Cristovão Colon (Colombo) era Português . Quidnovi, Vila do Conde 2006, ISBN 978-972-8998-14-1 .
- Manoel de Oliveira - 100 anos . Book accompanying the 21-DVD box for the 100th birthday. ZON Lusomundo, 2008.
- Alcides Murtinheira, Igor Metzeltin: History of Portuguese Cinema . Praesens, Vienna 2010, ISBN 978-3-7069-0590-9 .
Web links
- Christopher Columbus - The Enigma in the Internet Movie Database (English)