La cage dorée

I just watched this film and the immediate takeaway was that I should have watched it sooner. The movie has a strong base on stereotypes, giving you, from the beginning, a very generalized emigrated Portuguese family, appealing in a great way to Portuguese viewers. However, this movie is not, and should not be, restricted to those same viewers and a viewer that is not Portuguese will be able to have a pleasant time enjoying the movie.

The dialogue is made in a great way, satirizing a whole generation of Portuguese emigrants, that mix the french and Portuguese language in a comical way. The acting is also on point and the actors were able to carry a great story, filled with just the right amount of comedy and dramatic moments.

The movie is good and while stereotyping a lot of things for history purpose, it kinda escapes the stereotype that has been formed about Portuguese movies: that they suck (or are average at best). I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but it sure is an enjoyable film, granted to put some tears in your eyes and some smiles on your face.

La cage dorée it's an accurate portrayal of the Portuguese emigrant without all the drama, setbacks and sacrifices of other cinematic approaches. The story is simple, fun and realistic. The film is set in Paris, but it could have been set in any of the countries where there's a Portuguese emigrant, because that's exactly how they are: hardworking people, dreaming about their home country but loving the host country nonetheless. Pity that the linguistic puns will probably go unnoticed to non-Portuguese speakers, as well as the cultural mix-ups that more often than not mistake the Portuguese for the Spanish which, again, are absolutely true. The film is delightful and very entertaining. Congratulations to Ruben Alves, I'll be looking forward to watching more of his work.

This comedy is full of hilarious words and moments. For a charming film to be hilarious as well, it is rare. The plot stands well and is intelligent. We are never sure how it will end.

But very amusing after all. A couple of Portuguese immigrants living and working in Paris, France for more than 30 years, she a janitor in a condominium and he a mason in a small firm, receive the information that a distant relative in Portugal has left them a fortune as heritage but with the condition that they must return to live in Portugal. This creates great stress to them since they both maintain very cordial relations with their bosses and their children are already grown-up French citizens who are not in the mood of going to Portugal a country very strange to them. Their bosses (chiefly the husband's one) try to improve their working conditions to prevent their leaving. All this story develops itself in several episodes full of humour without breaking its natural realism and the authenticity of the labour, family and social relations (with ups and downs). A funny story that gives you a happy frame of mind mixed up with a healthy sentimentality. A final word for the cast's performance both of the Portuguese (Rita Blanco, Maria Vieira and Joaquim de Almeida among others) and the French which is excellent and very convincing moreover.

This movie hits a lot of right notes. It is hilarious at all the appropriate places, possesses a certain amount of charm and is neatly packaged with a cute (and convenient!) ending. Unfortunately, these things make it a bit too generic. It starts strongly but towards the end, the screenplay feels very sloppy.

The one extraordinary thing that makes the movie stand out a bit is the way in which it (very briefly) addresses the issue of hard-working, efficient & loyal employees who are nothing more than mere conveniences for their employers. The latter fail to see the working class people as human beings with feelings and usually take them for fools or doormats. And to top it all, these horrible employers are conceited enough to believe that they are very accommodating and considerate employers. Naturally, they feel that their employees are very fortunate to have found such magnanimous benefactors! However, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Overall, it is an average movie which has a lot going for it. How I wish that the screenplay was a bit better!