De Oliveira and the magical mirror
The thing which always strike us with the great Portuguese filmmaker is his ability (in spite of his age, 97 years old!) to capture us, to enrich us with his language, to captivate us with his mysterious stories, to entertain us with his subtle irony. Without being an exception to the rule Espelho magico ("Magical Mirror"), in competition In Venice, also revives the work of an innovative filmmaker.
Adapted from Augustina Bessa-Luis's novel "A Alma dos Ricos" ("The rich people's soul"), Manoel de Oliveira's latest work tells a story of religious obsession : Alfreda, performed by the Portuguese master's favourite actress, Leonor Silveira, is a wealthy and depressed woman whose only wish is to have tea with the Virgin Mary. Quoting de Oliveira, Alfreda, obsessed by this idea, "is living a series of apparently disjointed events, which are in reality the fruit of the psychical state that distresses wealthy people's mind".
We defy those who think that de Oliveira's films are boring by inviting them to get into this sarcastic masterpiece, with its amazing photography (Renato Berta, the cinematographer worked with Resnais, Godard, Rohmer, Malle, Chabrol...). Those who like his cinema will still be struck by the beauty of the frames in which the actors move with great and natural ease. All the credit is due to the young male character performed by Ricardo Trepa, present in almost ten other films of the master and to the Spanish woman Marisa Paredes, "stolen" from Pedro Almodòvar.
Romantic criminals, cynical nurses, intellectual priests, rich women who still wonder why the Virgin appeared to three ignorant shepherds in Fatima rather than discussing refined conversations with them. They all live in a reality whose very essence still eludes us and In which the cinema is obviously the "magical mirror.
De Oliveira's 26th film, shot entirely on digital, is produced by Filbox Produções with the financial help of ICAM and RTP. On the brink of his hundredth birthday, de Oliveria still has many projects in mind. The next one is called Belle de jour, and is inspired by Luis Buñuel's masterpiece made in 1967. Catherine Deneuve refused to interpret the leading role and Bulle Ogier, Florence in The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie will take over from her.
(Translated from Italian)
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
