A Portuguese farewell

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Movie
German title A Portuguese farewell
Original title To Adeus Português
Country of production Portugal
original language Portuguese
Publishing year 1985
length 79 minutes
Rod
Director João Botelho
script Leonor Pinhão
João Botelho
production João Botelho
camera Acácio de Almeida
cut João Botelho
Leandro Ferreira
occupation

A Portuguese Farewell (Original title: To Adeus Português ) is a film of the Portuguese director João Botelho from the year 1986 .

content

In 1973 a commando operating in Mozambique ran into enemy territory during the Portuguese Colonial War and a soldier died in an ambush. In 1985, eleven years after the Carnation Revolution and the subsequent end of the colonial war, the parents of the fallen soldier , who lived in Porto , went to Lisbon to visit their younger son and the widow of the fallen older son.

The restrained, introverted film manages without lavish war scenes and is determined by a subdued, quiet atmosphere. In the subway Lisbon a Fado is sung, insecure young couples in Lisbon cafes to talk, and in the idyllic city park, the family of a fallen soldier in fatalistic gestures and short, quiet sentences about the loss trying to talk.

production

The film was shot entirely in Portugal, including the scenes set in Africa. He doesn't use film music. Among the various assistants were the later directors Margarida Cardoso and Pedro Costa . The scenes set in Portugal in 1985 are shown in color, while the scenes set in the African hinterland in 1973 are shot in black and white, also in reference to the official Portuguese reporting on black and white television during the colonial war.

The Portuguese military was initially reluctant to provide the necessary equipment and advice. In terms of content, the army had no objections, but psychologically it was not yet easily possible for the soldiers to deal freely with the topic of the colonial war and individual traumas .

Maria Cabral , who was considered the Muse des Novo Cinema and had since moved to France, made her last film appearance here.

reception

The film had its world premiere on April 5, 1986 in the USA and at the London Film Festival , in Portugal the film was released on April 17, 1986. The film had its German premiere at the 1986 Berlinale , where it won the OCIC Prize. The film also ran at the Festival do Rio de Janeiro , where it received a Tucano de Ouro , and u. a. at the festivals of Belford, Cartagena, Salsomaggiore and Pesaro, where he won first prizes. He also found international distributors, for example in Great Britain and France. The film was first broadcast on German television on January 31, 1987 by Hessischer Rundfunk .

The film was received very positively by critics. In Portugal, cineastes celebrated it as the first feature film to critically deal with the Portuguese colonial war . The successful photography of the film was praised, as was the lack of emotional explosions, and the restrained, convincing performance. The Portuguese film , which experienced a relatively dry spell in the mid-1980s, helped Botelhos film and its international recognition to gain new impetus and renewed drive.

The Cahiers du cinéma paid some attention to the film in their issue No. 393 in March 1987, including an extensive interview with the director.

“In the confrontation of the Portuguese colonial past with the present life, it becomes clear that the break in the forms of life demands painful grief work. Despite all the speechlessness between the generations, the film breaks through the paralyzing melancholy of its characters and leaves them without bitterness. "

- Lexicon of international film

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ NY Times , accessed July 14, 2012
  2. ↑ www.cinema.sapo.pt  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed July 14, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / cinema.sapo.pt  
  3. ↑ Marc Chevrie, Entre temps. In: Cahiers du Cinema , n.393, 1987, p. 17, based on A.Murtinheira / I Metzeltin: History of Portuguese Cinema , 1st edition, Praesens Verlag, Vienna 2010
  4. ↑ www.imdb.com , accessed July 14, 2012
  5. ↑ www.imdb.com , accessed July 14, 2012
  6. ↑ Jorge Leitão Ramos : Dicionário do cinema português 1962–1988. 1st edition, Editorial Caminho, Lisbon 1989, page 23f
  7. ↑ A.Murtinheira / I.Metzeltin: History of Portuguese cinema , 1st Edition, Praesens Verlag, Vienna 2010, page 121
  8. ↑ A.Murtinheira / I.Metzeltin: History of Portuguese cinema , 1st Edition, Praesens Verlag, Vienna 2010, page 121
  9. ↑ Bonus material from the DVD edition by ZON Lusomundo, Lisbon 2008
  10. ^ A Portuguese farewell. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used