Fernando Meirelles has posted a new blog entry regarding the shooting of his new movie BLINDNESS. In this new entry he talks about the intangible qualities of the actors and tries to answer the question: Where does charisma comes from? Keep reading for a full translation of his latest blog entry.
Continue Reading "Blog Update for Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness: “About Charisma”"...
Shooting has began for BLINDNESS, the much anticipated Fernando Meirelles’ adaptation of the novel by the Nobel Prize winner Portuguese writer José Saramago. The novel is about a city that is struck by an epidemic of blindness.
The known cast is as follows: Julianne Moore as The Doctor’s Wife, Mark Ruffalo as The Doctor, Gael García Bernal, Sandra Oh, Danny Glover, Don McKellar, Maury Chakin, Yusuke Yseya, Yoshino Kimura and Alice Braga.
Fernando Meirelles has just started a blog where you can read his latest thoughts on what’s going on the set. Keep reading for a translation of his latest blog entry.
Continue Reading "Cast Update and Blog Entry for Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness"...
Between the 5th and the 9th of September the MOTELx horror movie festival takes place in Lisbon. The first edition of this non-competitive film festival aims to fill a void in the city cinematic offer as well as satisfying the growing demand for this particular genre.
From the various sections available the main attraction promises to be the cycle dedicated to Brazilian trash cinema with the participation of cult directors Zé do Caixão (José Mojica Martins) and Ivan Cardoso.
The isolation of the individual in the modern world seems to be the big subject in Portuguese cinema right now. The first feature film from director Hugo Vieira da Silva tell us the story of Katrin a troubled German girl who comes to Portugal to take part in a social re-education project but gets lost in the emptiness of the landscape.
The official site for this drama is now online. In it you can find a still gallery and a streaming trailer. Written and directed by Hugo Vieira da Silva, the movie stars Sylta Fee Wegmann as Katrin, Alice Dwyer as Julia, André Hennicke as Dieter, Luís Guerra as Pedro, Julika Jenkins as Anja and Pedro Hestnes as Joaquim.
Here’s a plot synopsis provided by the production company: “Since 1980 German institutions have been sending teenagers to the south of Portugal integrated in several experimental projects of social re-education. Katrin comes to Alentejo within this context. She does not establish a relationship with her environment, a situation heightened by the harshness of the landscape and the void of a socially desertified region. Katrin, Julia and Pedro form an enclave in a no-man’s land – a physical and mental desert....”
Body Rice trailer (streaming quicktime)
Body Rice stills (3 pictures)
Body Rice official website (English, French and Portuguese)
FOR FOR TRAILER, SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE.
The winner of the Regards Jeune Prix at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival as finally been released in DVD format. Widely acclaimed as one of the best Portuguese films of the last few years, it has been submitted to represent Portuguese cinema at the next edition of the Oscars®.
Marco Martins’ beautifully shot debut film and Bernardo Sassetti’s haunting soundtrack mix together perfectly to create a mood that perfectly depicts the desperation of a father who has lost his child. An amazing performance by Nuno Lopes as Mário and a very efficient secondary cast makes this one of my all time favourite Portuguese movies.
Continue Reading "Marco Martins’ ‘Alice’ Portuguese R2 DVD Out Now."...
This isn’t exactly hot of the press, but I’ve just found out about it a few days ago and gathered all the information I could about it. Thought it might be a good idea to share it.
The next film of Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles (CITY OF GOD, THE CONSTANT GARDENER) is the long awaited movie adaptation of the book BLINDNESS by the Nobel Prize winner Portuguese writer José Saramago. Meirelles had already tried back in 1997 to get the rights to make a movie version of the book, but was denied by the writer that thought that it would be difficult to translate into images a book that deals with blindness.
Continue Reading "Fernando Meirelles to direct screen adaptation of the best selling novel BLINDNESS."...
First of all, I would like to thank Todd for giving me the opportunity to contribute to my favorite movie website. I’ll be reporting as often as possible with news about Portuguese movies.
Although I wasn’t entirely convinced by Teresa Vilaverde’s debut film OS MUTANTES (The Mutants), her idiosyncratic and detached aproach to the hard subject of child exploitation did make me curious about her future films. Her second full-length feature ÁGUA E SAL (Water and Salt) suffered from limited distribution and I didn’t have a chance to see it. This year she’s back with TRANSE.
The official site for this drama is now online. In it you can find a still gallery and a streaming trailer with English subtitles. The screenplay of TRANSE was written by Teresa Vilaverde herself. The movie stars Ana Moreira as Sónia, Viktor Rakov. Robinson Stévenin, Iaia Forte, Andrey Chadov, Tim, Filippo Timi, and Dinara Droukarova.
Here’s a plot synopsis provided by the production company: “This is the story of Sonia, a young woman in her early twenties, who decides to leave a friend and family in Saint Petersburg, Russia, without looking back. A woman who will experience the illusion of a new life and the hell of those for whom life seems to have nothing to offer. Making her via crucis across Europe, through Germany, then Italy, and ending up at the extreme opposite, Portugal, Sonia will endure all the misery and degradation that the trafficking and exploitation of the weakest provokes. This is a story of another Europe...”
Transe trailer (streaming quicktime with subtitles)
Transe stills (15 pictures)
Transe official website (English version)
