Capitães de Abril

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.

Principally it is the story of two men who were part of the Portuguese revolution. It was easy to understand the contest, but usually directors starts from a historical fact to speak about something else, or they shows also the period before or after this fact, here everything happen during that couple of days when the revolution acts. It could also be seen as a kind of documentary. The movie focalize to these two people, showing as normal they were, not like common heroes, because the revolution come from people. Although it was made from military army from the title you can understand that they were just "capitaes" as the main characters. Nice colors and lights during the whole movie, excellent work for the director being her first movie, she doesn't fall to the banal way. Well shown emotions and passion of people and crowd. The character of Maia (main one)is well-made and there is also a good interpretation for Stefano Accorsi, able to show Maia's limits, this not-being an hero.

I never understood why an Italian actor is the lead actor here.

Not enough Portuguese actors in the age group or trying to capitalise on a more international recognition of Stefano?

Sorry but for such an important event in PT history you should stay with Portuguese actors or it does not look authentic at all... Would a known English actor play George Washington? It would look fake.. As I said too bad.

Too bad because the story is worth knowing and in particular the character Salgueiro Maia which became the face of the revolution and by the way went to school in my Ribatejo village (Coruche).

I've seen this film a few minutes ago and i'm still carrying that feeling of satisfaction and identification with the characters you usually get with movies that touch you someway. And, if the film wasn't particularly intelligent, one thing touched me the most: its array of technical achievements. I already knew it was the most expensive movie of Portuguese history. I already knew they had cranes, dollys, steadycams and all sorts of sound and image devices. I also knew they payed 5000 escudos (something like 25 dollars) to each extra, for each day of filming, since I was on the set, shouting alongside the others. But my fear was that the director who had a movie debut of 5 million dollars wasn't up to the challenge, spending most of her money learning and using basic shots. But it was surprising to see that Maria de Medeiros used her resources with taste, and professionalism. As for the story, I think it's somewhat simplified, but, given the budget, I think it's still incredible to see what they accomplished. As a future director, I hope and pray that Portuguese cinema continues to evolve this way, inventing, surprising, earning profit, and (most importantly) audience. Two thumbs up, I loved it. Bravo!

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.