O Convento (1995)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Manoel de Oliveira

Writers:

Agustina Bessa-Luís (novel)
Manoel de Oliveira (writer)

Release Date:

1 December 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

The journey of Michael Padovic, an American professor who arrives with his wife, Helene, at a Portuguese...

Plot Keywords:

Literature | Occult | Based On Novel

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Catherine Deneuve	...	Hélène
John Malkovich	...	Michael
Luís Miguel Cintra	...	Baltar
Leonor Silveira	...	Piedade
Duarte de Almeida	...	Baltazar (as Duarte D'Almeida)
Heloísa Miranda	...	Berta
Gilberto Gonçalves	...	Fisherman

Also Known As:

Le couvent (France)
The Convent (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some sexual content. (2006 rating)

Runtime:

Argentina:94 min | Spain:94 min | UK:90 min | USA:90 min

Country:

Portugal | France

Language:

French | English | Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | USA:PG | Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Serra da Arrábida, Setúbal, Portugal

Company:

Gémini Films

Oy Vey

This film was a revelation-- I never knew a foreign film could be so bad. The plot, on the surface, concerns an English speaking professor's journey to a monastery in Portugal with his wife in search of proof that Shakespeare was really an exiled Portuguese Jew. Interesting premise, right? Maybe. But what follows has about as much to do with Shakespeare as professional wrestling. You see, the monastery where this proof is supposed to reside is singularly spooky. It has four residents-- a creepy sort of curator, a creepy but hot librarian, a creepy handyman, and a creepy maid. These last two rarely separate, and for no apparent reason discuss the new arrivals and the history of the monastery in great depth, providing the only back-story given in the film. The curator falls for the wife, the librarian falls for the husband, and vice-versa in both cases, they talk about Faust and the devil a lot while slinking around in some gorgeous scenery, all culminating in an ending so mysterious that it makes no sense whatsoever. Now, I'm sure if I read the novel on which the film is based it would make some sense, but why? A film is a film-- it should be able to stand on its own.

The obscurity of the story itself is confusing, but it's not really what ruins the picture. Nothing works at all. The acting, I am sad to say, being an admirer of both Deneuve and Malkovich, is sub-par. It can't help but be. Malkovich doesn't even seem to be trying, but who can blame him? It's a miracle he managed to keep a straight face considering the unbelievably hokey dialog. As for the cinematography, I wasn't impressed. Yes, some beautiful scenery was well shot, but the scenes in the monastery itself are too dark for the viewer to really make out what is happening. I'm all for naturalism, but when it interferes with the comprehensibility of a scene then it needs reconsideration. But by far the worst element of this film is the sound. It's beyond belief. I'm sure it's arty and all that to have deafening horror movie type sound effects accompany relatively dull scenes willy-nilly, with no apparent relationship to what is happening on screen, but it just didn't work for me, nor did the ever-present, over-the-top musical score. Almost enough to make me press the mute button, despite the fact that the dialog is frequently in English. Too bad the English wasn't subtitled like the Portuguese, French, Spanish, and German dialog.

The only reason to watch this film is for some shots of interesting scenery, or if you are curious to see a film that is bad in five languages. Or if you're a masochist. Otherwise, avoid it like bad gefilte fish.