Pedro Cabeleira’s latest feature, Night Passengers, which has premiered in ACID at Cannes, is a film that unfolds in Entroncamento, the town that lends the film its original title. It’s a city in the centre of Portugal that boasts a junction between two major railway lines: one heading north and the other east. This intersection, outside of the capital, is the setting in which we follow the paths of those who inhabit this place.

When newcomer Laura (Ana Vilaça) arrives in town to live with her cousin, she is carrying baggage from her previous life. Her arrival is an attempt to open a new chapter for herself, but inevitably, it mainly becomes one for those who have always lived there. She can’t escape her old ways and ends up getting embroiled in the town’s own nocturnal activities, involving money and crime.

Laura might be a driving force for the film, yet we also get deeply acquainted with other sets of characters that all, in one way or another, connect with each other. From Virgílio (Henrique Barbosa) and his partner (Cleo Diára) to other groups of dealers and players (Rafael Morais, Tiago Costa, Sérgio Coragem, André Simões), a constellation of striking individuals is formed, whom we follow in their own intersecting lives. These are the titular night passengers on this cinematic train: each of them with different seats, and with their own sociocultural and ethnic backgrounds.

The script, written by Cabeleira and Diogo Figueira, shows a deep connection with what these characters could have said and done: every word we hear feels natural and hits close to home. Enhanced by some outstanding acting by the whole cast (with a special shout-out to Henrique Barbosa for his performance), this fiction film is able to elevate itself even further by creating the right space for, and balance between, all of the characters. This is especially the case for the strong women who hold this place – and these people – together and accountable. The art direction and set and costume design are brilliantly curated, and Entroncamento becomes a character in itself. The use of the city’s own characteristics as a way to create light, and to add or remove space visually, is done seamlessly. The handheld camera style, accompanied by a busy soundscape, enhances the feeling of constant movement. In addition, the soundtrack creates a whole other layer to this story, as the variety in the musical spectrum lends a different touch to elements that have probably been seen before.

In what could have been a story solely based on the murkiness of illicit nocturnal activities, the plot development goes deeper than that. Night Passenger explores not only the struggles these characters go through on an economic level, but also some of the deep sociocultural and historical problems that surround them. From the prejudice against the Roma community and hate speech directed at immigrants to deeply misogynistic behavioural patterns and small-town struggles, the film presents a variety of societal issues inherent in a country that is increasingly shifting towards the right wing. Delving deeper into the characters, but also into the contexts they exist in, allows this movie to paint an urgent portrait of part of Portuguese society, but also of a struggling, almost helpless generation.

Night Passengers is an OPTEC Filmes production (Portugal), in co-production with Kometa Films (France). Its world sales are overseen by Pluto Film.