L'étrange affaire Angelica

"Set in an unspecified modern age (no cellphone or computer on show, the story goes that de Oliveira germinates the script almost six decades earlier, in the 1940s, which can well account for the film's overall démodé tone), Sephardic photographer Isaac (Trêpa, a bland, even anemic leading man), lodging in a town near Porto, is hired to take some photographs of a young lady Angelica (de Ayala), who has just deceased and lies beatifically on her deathbed with an impeccable smile."

read my full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks

it is not an ordinary film. it is only a meeting. with Manoel de Oliveira vision about art purpose, with slices from Chagall art and. maybe, with the levels of an obsession. a film about art , love and life. raving, poetic, strange or touching, it is, like many of director movies, only a confession. and that is the key for be different. because, at first sigh, nothing is new. it could be a Gothic story adaptation, a film about mixture of dream and magic, a poem or remember about great paintings. an art movie by an immortal/legendary master who use, with precision, delicacy and inspiration known themes. in fact, it is only a touching story about common things. a poem in image who testify experience of a remarkable longevity. a film who remembers fairy tale and classic love stories. in fact, only a search. about axis of personal universe.

I was informed before the showing that Director Manoel de Oliviera was over 100 years old when he directed this film. So I took that into consideration. That may be one of the reasons I did not walk out half way through the screening.

However, in retrospect, this is not a bad film, but one that is very personal (for the director) to the extent it may not connect with everyone. Many inserts to the film (e.g. the labourers in the field) may have no bearing to the story but they were there. And an average Joe like me couldn't understand the reason why they were there. Metaphor, poetry, or scenery diversion may be the reasons but I could not tell.

In a sense it is a story about a young photographer losing his mind, and eventually his health, as a result of the escalating obsession following an encounter with a beautiful, dead woman. That I can relate to. But the story could definitely be told in a more lively, and less arty fashion to appeal to a larger audience.