Starny

A story of a boy meets girl, despite the fact that the girl is dressed as a pink dinosaur. So far, so good. This premise, as peculiar as it may seem, convinced me going to the cinema and watch this film. Besides, I have some sympathy for the screenwriter, who is a famous "comedian" (probably not his best attribute, hence the quotation marks) in Portugal.

In my honest opinion, the film starts out in the worst way possible. I wasn't even sure if it was supposed to be funny or not at first, since the first song featured seemed more like a parody than an actual serious scene of a film. From that scene on, it was practically impossible to enjoy the performance of at least two actors, João Tempera and Lúcia Moniz. I'm still not certain if either their acting was too dreadful to watch or if it was a big chunk of the screenplay which messed the film up. Either way, I thought an "amateur" would have acted better than any of these two, considering the circumstances.

The film has other scenes which are supposed to be serious, but cannot be taken seriously. These include bad guys in a scenery that makes no sense at all (then again, I have to blame it on the screen writing). Fortunately, we can count on some good old phrases here and there that make you believe there was some sense left when the script was written. The edition of the film seemed faulty at times as well. It is safe to assume that the film was a roller-coaster, only downhill from the beginning and having a very slight climb at the end.

On the other hand, I must praise the performance of Ivo Canelas, who plays the leading role. Considering the ridicule of some scenes he had to perform, I'm certain that he did his job well and it shows in the film. Honorable mention for Gregório Duvivier, who must be the coolest and most funny character in the film. Unfortunately, he was only on about 5 / 10 minutes of it, which reinforces my point of view on the choice of actors.

In conclusion, I would say it is not worth the money I spent (and mind you that I only paid 1 ticket for 2 persons).

When I decided to watch Capitão Falcão, I had had the opportunity to realize there was a very positive feedback on this movie from some friends and acquaintances over the internet. Nevertheless, one is always a bit suspicious when it comes to a popular Portuguese film - don't get me wrong, there can be very good cinema in Portugal! - that doesn't let down.

This film is a satire, basically portraying the good and true Portuguese as a person of value, that loves their family, acts fervently towards any patriotic action and that is totally against Communism and its ideology. For a Portuguese who knows well the history around the dictatorship practiced in Portugal with António de Oliveira Salazar, like the most of us, it becomes even more shocking, although in a very funny way, how some individuals could manage to get a comedy out of what really happened.

Moreover, this movie is genuinely funny; there are crazy moves, fights, outrageous lines and even recreations from our childhood.

In conclusion, and although I can not consider it to be a perfect film, it is a true breath of fresh air when it pertains to the Portuguese film industry that also shows we are perfectly capable of laughing of ourselves and, more importantly, leave the cinema thinking, at least for once - I'm so glad I'm Portuguese!