Morning Undersea (1980)
"Manhã Submersa" (original title)

Estefãnia is an old, rich, strict catholic woman, and when she sets her eyes on a couple of servants who have no means to bring up properly their youngest son, António, she decides to move ... See full summary »

Director:

Lauro António

Writers:

Lauro António, Vergílio Ferreira (novel)

Stars:

Eunice Muñoz, Vergílio Ferreira, Canto e Castro

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Eunice Muñoz	...	Dona Estefânia
Vergílio Ferreira	...	Reitor
Canto e Castro	...	Padre Tomás
Jacinto Ramos	...	Padre Martins
Carlos Wallenstein	...	Padre Lino
Joaquim Manuel Dias	...	António
Miguel Franco	...	Capitão
Maria Olguim	...	Joana
Adelaide João	...	António's Mother
Joaquim Rosa	...	Padre Alves
Alexandra Prado Coelho	...	Mariazinha
Rui Luís	...	Tio Gorra
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mário Botas	...	Padre
Manuel Cavaco	...	Criado
Camacho Costa	...	Padre Pita

Storyline

Estefãnia is an old, rich, strict catholic woman, and when she sets her eyes on a couple of servants who have no means to bring up properly their youngest son, António, she decides to move her influences in order to make a priest out of him. The parents accept it, the local priest and even the Seminar's rector accept it, and António accepts it - if not for piety, for obeyance to his parents. Once time goes by, and António is out of rural misery and into the prison-like system of a seminar, doubts and anguishes mount within him.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Portugal

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

17 October 1980 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Submersed Morning

Filming Locations:

Linhares, Celorico da Beira, Portugal

Company Credits

Production Co:

Instituto Português de Cinema (IPC), L.A. Produções Cinematográficas

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Marco do Correio"
Song written by Amadeu do Vale and Alberto Ribeiro
Performed by Alberto Ribeiro

User Reviews

Submerged Morning, an awful title for a wonderful film!

Who would prefer a "submerged morning" (meaningless in English) to the adequate rendition of the poetic original title, "morning mist"? Someone did. And that title may put off a number of people from watching this video. What a shame. The story is about a poor boy from a poor, rural family, that gets a high-school education in a catholic seminar as - in those days, which I'm old enough to recall, the 1950s - only the filthy reach or those living a large town could afford that luxury. And those that were determined to go into priesthood, often for the wrong reasons. The author of the novel - one of the best contemporary Portuguese writers, that you should try to read if you get hold of a translation - has done a romanticized autobiography here, and even plays the rector of the seminar, with top-notch marks. If you are not so much into social dramas, and religious and psychological conflicts, you should try to see this movie anyway: it has the best of Portuguese rural and mountain landscapes, the best cinematography, and wonderful music. Writing this made me refresh my memory of those magnificent views - aaah! - so that one even breathes fresh air. This film is the product of two loves that multiplied into a work of art, almost perfect: the words of Virgílio Ferreira, and the direction of Lauro António. I'm not so fond of Lauro António as a movie critic, but his film, this film, is definitely RECOMMENDED.