A Religiosa Portuguesa

Film is a pretty but sluggish walk through Lisbon as this actress is in town to shoot a film about a nun who falls in mad passionate love with a sailor on leave. The actress wanders around Lisbon at night and finds an actual nun who seems to never leave a kneeling position at the altar of one of the churches she comes across in her wanderings. The actress then starts obsessing about said nun, as well as having several encounters with various men of Lisbon--and none of the amorous kind which is all the more surprising given how pretty the leading actress is. That's more or less it in terms of plot--but the plot is besides the point here.

The point (i think) is about how the life force of a city can influence the life force of its citizenry--and how this can have a great affect on any visitors looking to get lost amongst its peoples. Its not a bad watch--Lisbon is shot very very nicely throughout--and the leading actress while not getting to really express anything beyond vague sentiments about destiny and fate and the like is pleasant enough company for the two or so hours running time.

She does have a horrible habit of looking directly and intently into the camera--seemingly at the audience in various shots throughout the film. That this happens repeatedly throughout is obviously meant as a directorial touch--but one that becomes rather irritating the more its repeated (irritating that is until it becomes funny because it happens so often enough that it soon becomes several characters who once they finish speaking end up starting intently into the camera--almost as if they're daring us to disagree with what they just said!) The pacing of the film while deliberate is definitely of the slow kind. Its not bad if you're looking for a nice leisurely wander through Lisbon--but its not as if much happens...and yet i was hardly bored while watching it. Film is somewhat captivating as the hypnotically good looking leading lady walks around staring at things and taking in the locals and customs. Film actually reminded me of Jim Jarmusch's Limits of Control where despite differences in genders and professions, both films are essentially about its main characters killing time between jobs wandering around a city and trying to take in the specific time and place of a specific culture--and its citizenry. On that front its definitely successful.

I liked the stillness of the cinematography and the vistas of Lisbon. I also liked the way that some beautiful live music was worked into the plot. However, I did not find the storylines engaging. They were ponderous and implausible. It also seemed that at least one of the actors found the awkward acting style altogether too awkward and so it became clumsy rather than stylised.

This film is as much about the pure art of film making as is the storyline, The camera and static shots are true genius , and yes the pans and lack of sound track are a most refreshing change compared to 99% of the rubbish that is out there, you feel as though you are discovering Lisbon with her as well as the story line, my fav parts of the movie is where she discovers the music being sang in a small tavern, and the very end shot of the camera that was used to make the film itself, if you love pure time taken film making art with a story line watch this film x If Hollywood is your thing you will not enjoy this x

I watched this on the excellent MuBI Internet movie channel and found it an intriguing look at personal relationships. It has a very leisurely pace and there is no "action" but it is beautifully filmed and the scenes of Lisbon are beguiling. The dialogue and motion of the actors is deliberately stylised and there is much looking directly at the camera. Also the framing of dialogue between pairs of characters is unconventional; it shows each speaker full face in turn. Nevertheless, if you can cope with such lack of cinematic convention, it's an enjoyable piece. The Portuguese language is beautiful, to say nothing of the protagonist played by Leonor Baldaque.

I've only walked out a few films in my life. This was one of them. What annoyed me most was the unnatural way the actors were instructed to speak their lines. It took me out of the movie. And they were taking their sweet time too. Line - pause - line, like those learn-a-language tapes. Though intentional, this style was not consistently applied.

Also, there were only so many close-up shots of Leonor Baldaque's Bambi eyes I could take. Or panoramic shots of Lisbon. They are nice at first, the whole movie is aesthetically pleasing, but they lose their power the umpteenth time they are used.

Half-way through the audience was getting giggly. Not a good sign, as this isn't a comedy by far. It's just so ridiculously pretentious at times, that it's hard not laugh, or sigh.

When chapter V began, I darted out. Far from the only one in the audience to do so. Experiments are necessary, too bad this one failed as badly as it has.

On a positive note: for fans of decorative tiles, this is the must-see movie of the year.