13/10/2005

Two European feature films open today in the Portuguese theatres, both starring José Garcia. The versatility of the French actor can be seen in two projects by two well known filmmakers: Carlos Saura and Costa Gavras.

After some films based on the concept of dance as a means of expression, veteran Carlos Saura builds up in The Seventh Day a violent story inspired by a real case that shocked Spain back in1990. Divided by a past of crime and open wounds, two families, The Jiménez and The Fuentes, share only a hatred for one other, which will lead to the killing of several innocent people. Alongside José Garcia, the film also stars Victoria Abril (Goya nominated for the best supporting actress), in a role which seems to be a rural but psycho version of Miss Havisham, from Charles Dickens' novel "Great Expectations". Produced by Lolafilms, the film is distributed by Lusomundo.

Also distributed by Lusomundo, in two Lisbon theatres, the second European title of the week is the French-Belgian film Le Couperet [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Costa Gavras. Here José Garcia plays Bruno Davert, an executive who is fired after a company restructuration. He becomes obsessed with finding a good job, even if for that he has to kill the other applicants. "What I really like, in this story, is its theme: the individualism, which is a good picture of today’s society with its market economy, obsessed with competitiveness at work", confessed the director to Cinergie during the shooting of the film. "What I also like about Le Couperet is that his goal seems legitimatised by the values of our society. Everyone would do it in his postion. It is his means that are not legitimatised.".

Both The Seventh Day and Le Couperet will have to compete against last week's Portuguese release. Only in its first week-end, Marco Martins's Alice [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marco Martins
interview: Nuno Lopes
film profile] attracted nearly 7500 moviegoers in its first week, an uncommon figure for a Portuguese title in such a short period of time. Alice (Film Focus) benefits from several debates organised on the topics of the films, with the participation of the cast, film critics and psychologists.