Variações

Almost 2 hours about an one of the most important rock musicians of Portugal and you get more a hart listening singing of the actor than the getting famous context in the Portuguese society which could be more interesting for the not-knowing audience. The actors are good (except the solo singing parts) but the propose stays unclear.

When entering the movie, I didn't know much about António Variações besides the great artist he was and his unique way of dressing. The movie shows his biography in a superficial way and focus more on the music he wrote. In my opinion, it should be more balanced with his personal life, tastes, way of thinking and feelings. Also, the movie doesn't explain how he got "Variações" since his name is António Ribeiro. I enjoyed the way they recorded and the work of the main actor, but I simply feel the need, after seeing this movie, to search more about Variações, some things that the movie couldn't explain. However, it is nice to see that there are more options in the cinema besides the same and usual movies, specially in portuguese with this quality.

If it were for the acting, the photography, the custome design and the sets this movie would be a 10/10. It starts brilliantly, the beginning gives us hope of learning who António is, however it quickly becomes shallow. The character development just isn't there, the characters never come to life. The basic question of how Antonio Ribeiro became Variações is never answered, this movie was saved from being a let down by the actors.

The main actor did a great job. It's very impressive how he could dive in to the character. It looked just like the real person. All the clothes and sets are so good. It's amazing.

I was expecting more. I mean, sometimes the plot of Variações is shallow. I finished this film without knowing anything new about this great artist. The movie shows us just the fight of António to be a singer and one important relationship in his life, however never goes too far and it's afraid of explore the deepest points of his life and personality. However the cinematography, the scenarios and the "clothes" are incredible, it portrays very well the portuguese culture during the 70s/80s. I also loved Sérgio Praia's performance, he's amazing and I hope to watch him in more great productions.

It's not perfect, but is the movie that Portugal needs to show to the world how we can also do great films, we just need dedication and passion as a lot of people from this crew had.