Portugal, mon amour

The most successful movie of the year so far in Portugal and France, La Cage Dorée is a dramatic like comedy about a Portuguese family emigrated in France for 30 years. Ruben Alves, the director, is himself the son of a Portuguese couple emigrated in France, being La Cage Dorée an homage to his own parents. And what an homage! La Cage Dorée is the perfect depiction of that generation of Portuguese emigrants, the hard working, humble and low self esteemed employees that refuse to forget the simple things they love in Portugal, such as good food, beer, football and even gossip. Having a part of my family emigrated in France as well, I was astonished by how accurate and real this representation was, mixing french and Portuguese in the dialog. Plus the gap between french-Portuguese youth and this older generation is masterfully recreated, being hard to find anyone in the audience that would not connect with this movie. The characters are rich and detailed, with very good interpretations, particularly by Rita Blanco with a character that will reach you. The directing goes well with the line of modern french cinema of the likes of François Ozon, with beautiful photography, great picture plans and a very fine dose of European humor. La Cage Dorée was indeed a very positive surprise, standing as a role model for Portuguese and even french movies to come. Visit thefadingcam blog for more!

All the best things about French cinema, imho. No special effects. No exploding cities, buses, planes, etc. Just a wonderful story about people and their families, businesses, and dilemmas ... you know, like what America cinema used to be once upon a time before that became "boring." Everything that a movie can be and should be is in this movie. Excellent casting and wonderful performances. Solid and competent cinematography. My only unsolved mystery is why the restaurant scene near the end is at the Vasco de Gama restaurant.

This movie hits a lot of right notes. It is hilarious at all the appropriate places, possesses a certain amount of charm and is neatly packaged with a cute (and convenient!) ending. Unfortunately, these things make it a bit too generic. It starts strongly but towards the end, the screenplay feels very sloppy.

The one extraordinary thing that makes the movie stand out a bit is the way in which it (very briefly) addresses the issue of hard-working, efficient & loyal employees who are nothing more than mere conveniences for their employers. The latter fail to see the working class people as human beings with feelings and usually take them for fools or doormats. And to top it all, these horrible employers are conceited enough to believe that they are very accommodating and considerate employers. Naturally, they feel that their employees are very fortunate to have found such magnanimous benefactors! However, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Overall, it is an average movie which has a lot going for it. How I wish that the screenplay was a bit better!

Let's say it first, members of the Portuguese community will probably like this movie more than the average viewer, particularly regarding all the little details (verbal tics for example). But is it really abnormal for that type of movie ?

In this sense, it must be noted that Ruben Alves, to his credit, managed to depict this community with sincerity, accuracy and tenderness. The gallery of characters, from the main to the supporting, is outstanding and perfectly played by all the actors (to think Rita Blanco didn't speak French before shooting is incredible !).

The plot is very classic, but the quality of the dialogues, actors and mise-en-scène easily compensate for this lack of originality and make La Cage Dorée a very enjoyable movie.

Without telling the story of the first movie of the film director Ruben Alves, "La cage dorée" is a comedy that deals with relations between immigrants and French; employers and employees, parents and children; neighbors; lovers and close family in a small community in central Paris. The film is a feel good comedy and touches the heart by the beautiful, funny and smart dialogues, the perfect interpretation of French and Portuguese actors, first and second roles, and a discrete and sensitive mise en scene. It is not necessary to be French or Portuguese to be moved by the issues and personal choices of the main characters, just have some feelings.