PORTUGUESE AFRICA, 1973. Slowly, we have plenty of time: the words of the Second Lieutenant to the small band of soldiers he commands. A land mine exploding on the forest track, the patrol lost in the forest. The death of a soldier, shots in the night. Involved in a war in which the enemy is never seen, the mud-splattered soldiers methodically carry out the final pilgrimage without bitterness or glory, the tame farewell of a generation to five centuries of Portuguese presence in Africa: a story of war.
PORTUGAL, 1985. Raul and Piedade, small farmers from Minho, go to visit Lisbon. They see Alexandre, their second son, again and visit Laura, the widow of their first son killed twelve years before in the war in Africa. The family is together again but it will never be even a shadow of what it was before. Marked by time, the memory that once united them is now only pain and silence. Life is like that, according to the personalities involved. They are not bitter, but accept things as they are and smile. Raul and Piedade go back to their home in the north, but Laura and Alexandre have nowhere to return to: a story of peace.
Biography
Following graduation from the Escola de Cinema at Portugal’s Conservatorio Nacional in 1976, João Botelho is best known for his internationally acclaimed adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic novel Hard Times, Tempos Dificeis (1987). Botelho became interested in film while studying engineering. He abandoned engineering studies to attend film school, and shortly after graduation found occasional work as a graphic artist and film critic, as well as founding a short-lived film magazine. Botelho made his directorial debut with the documentary Um Projecto de Educação/A Project for Popular Education, which he co-helmed with Jorge Alves da Silva. He directed his first solo effort, Conversa Acabada/The Conversation Is Over, in 1981. For Tempos Dificeis, Botelho received prizes from the 1987 Venice Film Festival. In 1994, Botelho was commissioned to make a film about Portugal’s most famous city, Lisbon, to celebrate its designation as a European capital of culture. The film was part of a trilogy, each one depicting part of a typical day in Lisbon. Botelho’s film Tres Palmieras covered the hours of six a.m. to two p.m. and was comprised of a series of interesting short vignettes. Botelho did not make another film until Trafico (1998). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Also Known As (AKA): Un adieu Portugais, Ein portugisischer Abschied, A Portuguese Goodbye
DVDRip | MKV | 720 x 572 | AVC @ 1974 Kbps | 82 min | 1.25 Gb
Audio: Portuguese AC3 2.0 @ 192 Kbps | Subs: Portuguese, English, French (embedded)
Genre: Drama
