O Judeu

The two external reviews posted on the IMDB site are rather negative, but I enjoyed this movie. A distinguished young Brazilian playwright and his relatives are summoned before the Inquisition in Lisbon and accused of relapsing into Judaism. I have no idea how historically accurate "O Judeu" is, but it's worth seeing for several reasons. The conscientiousness of the trial inquisitor who won't condemn the accused without the proper legal formalities or for improper reasons of state is nicely juxtaposed against the corruption of the bureaucratic chief inquisitor. The sets (particularly the magisterial interiors of various Portuguese palaces) and the costumes are lovely. And it's delightful to hear the differences between spoken continental and Brazilian Portuguese. The latter is music to the ears by dint of its mellifluousness and sensuality, but the former has its own pleasant attributes and elegant lilt. See if you can tell which actors are Brazilian and which are Portuguese.

Art direction is great, and the the way Catholic Church is depicted is politically and historically very appropriate (including the Inquisition torture scenes and the anti-rationalism). However, the script is a little confusing (certainly, the death of Filipe Pinheiro, who had the leading role, made everything become very complicated as much of the movie was still to be shot) and repetitive, and some dialogues seem too contemporary and then not convincing as the portrayal of events from the XVIIIth century. I also think that it is is weird when Portuguese characters are played by Brazilian actors with Brazilian accents (for instance, although excellent actor, José Lewgoy as Cardinal Nuno da Cunha e Ataíde, chief inquisitor). I think that the casting of Brazilian actors should have been directed only to Brazilian characters, such as Alexandre de Gusmão and Antônio José da Silva.