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Reviews
Os Imortais (2003)
A landmark on Portuguese cinema.
"Os Imortais" is without a doubt one of the best, or probably, the best Portuguese film ever made. It certainly is a landmark on the Portuguese cinema's scene; this movie his worth every minute.
Every year, four ex-soldiers that call themselves "Os Imortais" (translated "The Immortals"), get together with four women to celebrate war deeds and to remember the old days, back in the war. On the summer of 1985, tired of their monotonous lives they decide to rob a bank. Joaquim Malarranha, a chief inspector from the local police about to retire, crosses their path and will spend his last days of duty trying to solve the robbery. But has he carries on with his investigation, he discovers more than he could ever think of.
A movie that focuses on strange and disturbing actions of ex-soldiers on their attempt to fit in the modern society and to mend errors committed in the past, and on a veteran cop who's about to leave his working-life behind.
João Pedro de Vasconcelos managed to assemble a cast with vast qualities; it's a pleasure to watch Nicolau Breyner's performance. The story is very solid and can really catch the viewer's attention; it keeps the anxiety of knowing what really happened during the robbery and the days that followed it.
"A bandit always forgets that there is, at least, another bandit smarter than him."
El crimen del padre Amaro (2002)
A misleading film.
After the first five minutes of the movie I became very upset and realized that it would be a bad adaptation of the book.
"O Crime do Padre Amaro" (book title) was written in the 19th century by one the most prestigious authors of Portuguese literature, Eça de Queirós. It is acclaimed as one of his best creations (along with 'Os Maias' and others), and it is indeed an excellent novel. It has been translated to dozens of foreign-languages and it is unanimously considered as one of the greatest Portuguese books ever written.
By the time when the novel was published (1875/1876) its subject was considered heresy. Even now the Catholic Church forbids its priests the breaking of their celibacy votes.
So it would seem that this was a good starting point for a good movie, but the truth is that it is not. The film is just too long and you don't get involved with the main characters, they're so naive and so predictable. In the movie the story is adapted to recent times (1980s/90s) and the action takes place in Mexico which makes it just too ridiculous to watch. In the book the action is set in a Portuguese city (Évora) and the characters are also Portuguese. It doesn't make any sense to change, to such an extent, the original story.
Just for you to see how ridiculous this gets, there's a moment in the film where Amelia (the girl Padre Amaro falls in love with) confesses to the priest that sometimes, while she's having a bath, she touches herself thinking about Jesus Christ. See what I mean? "Does the novel have this kind of nonsense", you ask? Of course not.
My advice is: if you are interested in this story, you should try to find a copy of the book and just don't bother watching the movie, it really is a waste of time.