Casa de lava

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

In only his second feature, Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Costa (Horse Money, In Vanda's Room) brilliantly reworked Jacques Tourneur's classic I Walked with a Zombie into a reflection on his country's colonial legacy. A nurse, Mariana (Inês Medeiros), accompanies Leão (Isaach De Bankolé) to his home on the volcanic islands of Cape Verde after an accident sends him into a coma. But he goes unrecognized by fellow denizens, leaving Mariana trapped with and eventually entranced by a mysterious community. Never before released in the U.S. and now beautifully restored, Casa de Lava foreshadows the masterful films that would follow, yet is an extraordinary, ravishing work in its own right.

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1 Video

41 Photos

Drama

The film tells a story of Mariana, a nurse who leaves Lisbon to accompany an immigrant worker in a comatose sleep on his trip home to Cape Verde. The devoted Portuguese nurse took a journey ... Read allThe film tells a story of Mariana, a nurse who leaves Lisbon to accompany an immigrant worker in a comatose sleep on his trip home to Cape Verde. The devoted Portuguese nurse took a journey only to find herself lost in abstract drama.The film tells a story of Mariana, a nurse who leaves Lisbon to accompany an immigrant worker in a comatose sleep on his trip home to Cape Verde. The devoted Portuguese nurse took a journey only to find herself lost in abstract drama.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins & 2 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 0:35

CASA DE LAVA Official Trailer

Photos40

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Grand tour

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Only film by Pedro Costa to use professional actors.

Connections
Featured in Olhar o Cinema Português: 1896-2006 (2007)

Soundtracks
Morna das sombras
Lyrics by Robert Desnos
Music by Raul Andrade
Performed by Raul Andrade

User reviews4

Featured review

9/10

This beautiful little foreign film will leave you speechless

Pedro Costa is the master of minimalism and for those who enjoy that form of filmmaking this will be a feast for the senses. He has made multiple wonderful films that fit the genre so I can not say this is his best but it is better than most films I have seen and I have seen a lot.

It is a beautiful film about a nurse and a volcano. Doesn't that description alone make you want to watch it? It sounds so simple and it is. And simple equals brilliance in the hands of the expert filmmaker Pedro Costa.

Be forewarned however that if you were not intrigued by the description about the nurse and the volcano then this may not be the film for you. Costa has a certain style that only some enjoy. But if you are one of the lucky few you will surely love this film.

There are many wonderful shots and the editing is brilliant. So often the camera does not cut away when in the hands of another filmmaker it would. Costa's distinct visual style astounds the senses. The cinematography alone is breathtaking let alone the beautiful story that will leave you misty eyed.

It is considered to be a remake of the 1943 film 'I Walked with the Zombie' although that one is considered to be a horror film and this effort is far superior. It is a drama and it is an improvement upon the earlier film. This is my favorite European film of the nineties.