Sorte Nula

Terrible. There's no way to get around it. A script at the level of one from some Mexican soap opera, a choice and use of the places of shooting that make the movie labyrinthine and at the same time, repetitive and monotonous, with disastrous performances of almost the entire cast. The references to Tarantino's work, so poorly made, are more an insult than anything else. I suspect that was not for the shameless and plot-unrelated exploitation of Matadinho's generous curves , nobody would take the effort to go watch this film to any theater.

These are the kind of films that make me have no desire to watch Portuguese cinema.

"Sorte Nula" is the #1 Box Office Portuguese movie of 2004. This extreme low budget production (estimated USD$150,000) opened during Christmas opposite American Blockbusters like National Treasure, Polar Express, The Incredibles and Alexander but rapidly caught the adulation of the Portuguese moviegoers. Despite the harsh competition, the small film did surprisingly well, topping all other Portuguese films of the past two years in its first weeks. The film is a mystery/murder with a humorous tone cleverly written and directed by Fernando Fragata who has become a solid reference in the European independent film arena. Did I like the film? Oh, yes!

who reads these comments may think we may have in hand a great movie. I am Portuguese and I'm ashamed that this film became a blockbuster in Portugal. It can't really call this cinema. The direction and "mise-en-scene" is basic (even Ron Howard does better!); the script is bad and pretentious (a really bad Tarantino); the cast is covered in TV stars, models and reality show stars that don't no nothing about acting. When you put in a movie this ingredients of course that the fans of this kind of TV shows will all go see. i am also surprised that people who make comments here in IMDb say that this movie is a masterpiece. I thought that this site was only for people who truly like cinema and understand a little bit of it. All the movies made to be blockbusters in Portgal always use the same ingredients and are always awful. if you think this movie is reasonable, please don't say your love movies and cinema.

It is fantastic! A sick and twisted tale of coincidence and deceit.

The story is meticulously and ingeniously constructed. It is really a perfect mixture: it has all from suspense to humor and the story is told with lots of originality... The film is built up like a puzzle which is assembled piece by piece, and resolves the story... For the viewer there are plenty of surprises till the end!! I also had a little impression that the director has been inspired by some Hitchcock work. I've also seen films before where you see the same event happening from different points of view but this film goes beyond that. In this movie everything is built upon what happens to a body that appears and disappears and appears again in a different location. Every actor in the story has his own secret and we come to realize it in a way that contributes to assembling the puzzle.... I loved especially the dark humor scenes...which made laugh the whole theater.... This movie is a must see for everyone!

Alberto is planning the ultimate romantic escape, with one truly gorgeous girl, but fate won't let him succeed so easily.

A low-budget production opens in December and manages to become the top grossing Portuguese picture of the year.

This movie has a tight plot masterly followed through, solid special effects, fine editing, a good cast of characters and the director clearly knows and shows that he knows his stuff.

We can only imagine what a big budget Fernando Fragata movie would be like, and wish dearly for it, but him being Portuguese it surely won't be easy for him to get hold of such a project. Bad luck being born Portuguese (note: although one could actually argue that it is bad luck to be born Portuguese, for an aspiring mainstream director it is surely that much more painful so--he would have much more chances in his surrealistic country of midget-size market if he was an art-house type, which he is not--and that of course is the reason he gets the public, although not the money as there are not enough people around).

(Surrealistic: Having an oddly dreamlike or unreal quality, fantastic for vacations)