Capitães de Abril

Being half-portuguese doesn't render me half-blind (nor half-prejudiced) when discussing portuguese films. Not that I get to do that very often anyway. But this film was such a rush of adrenaline! Yes, that's right - it was mostly accurate as far as history went/goes - but it pulled no punches on venturing beyond usual portuguese-film territory: things like using real locations in the middle of traffic-congested Lisbon and recruiting a real crowd to stand in for the real crowd of almost 30 years ago. And by God did they get it right! OK, to sum it up: very emotional if you've lived through it, but you'll spot minor improvements that could have been made as well as plot necessities that were. If you're just watching it randomly, you're in for a good historical romp, only of the very recent History kind and a bit more thought-proving than usual. Even by European standards, yes.

You know? Our spirit is based on that revolution, it's asleep... I can explain, I think!! Well... Until that happen on 25th April 1974, our freedom was limited, we didn't had liberty of speech, but when we got it at the revolution, it seems that Portuguese People lost his opinion, we don't use our liberty of speech! That's all a consequence of the revolution! I think that's clear!... About the movie... I think that it has a few mistakes on some character's acting, but by the way I use to watch on Portuguese movies it's quite good!! I like it very much!

Probably the first Portuguese film I have seen in my life, and I enjoyed it. The plot is related of how the young army officers took the power in Portugal in 1974, to finally defeat the fascist government of Caetano and to also finalize the wars in the colonies, i.e. Mozambique, Angola, and Guinea (Bissau)- Cape Vert. Most of the events shown in the film reflect with exactitude the behavior of the army officers and soldiers to conduct the coup, of the oppressed people, who were very happy with this new development and the liberty, the resistance of Caetano's men, and also in a subtle way of most conservative officials, including Spinola, who took over as the new president. The Portuguese revolution can be remembered because of the action of several young officers, but for me the most interesting part of the film was when the young captain expressed that Portugal should develop itself democratically, and this is what the country achieved some years after this coup or revolution. The film also shows that the army officers and soldiers never wanted to kill anyone; even the most serious enemies were respected at the end.

For her feature directing debut, Maria de Medeiros ("Pulp Fiction", "Henry and June") has certainly taken on a big story: the Portuguese Revolution of the 25th of April 1974. However, the film isn't a history lesson; rather a fictional story that introduces fictional characters and situations into the actual historical facts and places of the day, alongside some of its real protagonists. It's basically a schoolboy comic-book adventure, full of naive heroics and larger-than-life moments, quite well played and adroitly directed; the script is the weakest link, fanning out into a number of parallel stories some of which are rather pointless. The film exudes the contagious energy and juvenile joy of actually living out an adventure (although one might point out that no, the actual Revolution was not an adventure!), and it's precisely that schoolboy-adventure side that, along with its no-nonsense storytelling which adheres relatively faithfully to the actual run of events, is enough to recommend it. .

Carnation Revolution is one of the most beautiful chapters of World History in the XXth century and Portuguese movie "April Captains"matches it. Maria de Medeiros's movie is beautifully filmed. Cinematography is amazing, with great frames, both aesthetically and creatively. Besides a brutal opening and some other violent situations such as the one inside the public bathroom and a "Full Metal Jacket"-style scene, there are also many funny moments. Off course one cannot help but becoming touched as people are shown supporting freedom. The image of people putting carnation flowers in the barrel of the guns, which gave the name to the revolution, is also shown. "Grândola Vila Morena" song was an anthem for revolutionaries and it is heard many times during the whole film. Italian actor Stefano Accorsi and French actor Frédéric Pierrot are great in the leading roles. Both for its content and for its artistic realization, "Capitães de Abril" is a film to make all the Portuguese people proud.