Inês de Castro

Vintage Iberian historical movie including intense drama , evocative clothing , costumes and adequate set design . Epic and acceptable film dealing with kingdoms , passions , court confrontations , treason and political intrigues . It concerns Infante Pedro (Antonio Vilar) who married Spanish princess Constanza (Maria Dolores Pradera) , but Pedro fell for her servant Ines de Castro (Alicia Principe) , she was a Galician noblewoman best known as lover and posthumously-recognized wife of King Peter I of Portugal.

This is an impressive historic tale set in Portugal , concerning fights , love stories , faith , religion and terrifying elements on its ending . There takes place the politic intrigues in the kingdom and then multiple drama is inevitable with a political confrontation behind . This interesting as well as intimate story is a passionate retelling and a touching drama , adding creepy happenings . The settings are decent though mostly made in ¨Carton-Piedra (stone)¨ as well as matte-painting . The motion picture was professionally directed by José Leitão de Barros who directed a lot of documentary and ¨Camoens¨ also starred by Antonio Vilar.

Based on historical facts , these are the following ones : Ines de Castro came to Portugal in 1340 as a maid of Constance of Castile, recently married to Peter, the heir apparent to the Portuguese throne. The prince fell in love with her and started to neglect his lawful wife, endangering the already feeble relations with Castile . Moreover, Peter's love for Ines brought the exiled Castilian nobility very close to power, with Inês's brothers becoming the prince's friends and trusted advisors. King Afonso IVThe Brave of Portugal, Peter's father, disliked Ines's influence on his son and waited for their mutual infatuation to wear off, but it did not. Then Constance of Castile died in 1345. Alfonso IV tried several times to arrange for his son to be remarried, but Pedro refused to take a wife other than Ines, who was not deemed eligible to be queen. Peter's legitimate son, future King Ferdinand I of Portugal, was a frail child, whereas Peter and Ines's illegitimate children were thriving; this created even more discomfort among the Portuguese nobles, who feared the increasing Castilian influence over Peter. Afonso IV banished Ines from the court after Constance's death, but Peter remained with her declaring her as his true love. After several attempts to keep the lovers apart, Afonso IV ordered Inês's death. Pêro Coelho, Álvaro Goncalves, and Diego Lopes Pacheco went to the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha in Coimbra, where Ines was detained, and killed her, decapitating her in front of her small child. When Peter heard of this he sought out the killers and managed to capture two of them in 1361. He executed them publicly by ripping their hearts out, claiming they didn't have one after having pulverized his own heart. Peter became king of Portugal in 1357 (Peter I of Portugal). He then stated that he had secretly married Inês, who was consequently the lawful queen, although his word was, and still is, the only proof of the marriage. During the 1383-85 Crisis of royal succession in Portugal, João das Regras produced evidence that allegedly established that Pope Innocent IV had refused Peter's request to recognize his marriage to Inês and legitimize his children by her, the elder of whom, John, Duke of Valencia de Campos would have a strong potential claim to the throne of Portugal. By negating these children's claimed legitimacy, João das Regras strengthened the claim of another illegitimate child of Peter I of Portugal: John, Master of Aviz, who ultimately took the throne and ruled as John I of Portugal .Some sources say that after Peter became king of Portugal, he had Inês' body exhumed from her grave and forced the entire court to swear allegiance to their new queen: "The king caused the body of his beloved Ines to be disinterred, and placed on a throne, adorned with the diadem and royal robes. and required all the nobility of the kingdom to approach and kiss the hem of her garment, rendering her when dead that homage which she had not received in her life..." Some modern sources characterize the story of the Ines' post-mortem coronation is a "legend. And it is most likely a myth, since the story only appeared in 1577 in Jerónimo Bermúdez' play . She was later buried at the Monastery of Alcobaca where her coffin can still be seen, opposite Peter's so that, according to the legend, at the Last Judgment Peter and Ines can look at each other as they rise from their graves.

This film, a historical drama set in the Middle Ages, is one of the most striking films in the filmography of Leitão de Barros, together with "Maria do Mar" and "Camões", which is the film that became more popular with the passing of years. Even so, Leitão de Barros remains a little-known director.

Contrary to popular belief, and despite having made some very popular films during the Estado Novo (because of patriotism and the exaltation of the great figures of Portuguese history), Leitão de Barros was not always a beloved figure in power. But what may have hurt the director was the simple fact that his films with historical background have become so popular. For years, he was seen as someone linked to the Salazar's regime, which is not at all true.

"Inês de Castro" lacks, I think, the lightness of "Camões" and there are some moments when Leitão de Barros loses his hand. The sets are sometimes too imaginative and it seems like fiction. Obviously, much of what this film reports did not happen, almost certainly, but at the time it was thought so, and the film respects the canonical version of events. However, it was quite unpleasant to see António Vilar give King Dom Pedro I the image of a wicked, demented or cruel king, feared of the people by the hard hand with which he punish. In fact, Dom Pedro was a tough king who was liked to apply justice. But the people liked him! At a time when the most powerful barely paid for their misdeeds, the people admired a king who knew how to be impartial and apply justice without looking at who was in front of him.

There remains for the history of Portuguese cinema a film that, in the wave of historical dramas so much to Salazar's taste, was able to transpose to the cinema one of the most romantic and dramatic pages in the history of the Portuguese Monarchy.