Sostiene Pereira (1996)

Director:

Roberto Faenza

Writers:

Roberto Faenza (writer)
Antonio Tabucchi (novel)

Release Date:

1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Portugal 1938. Pereira is the editor of the culture section of the Lisboa, an unaffiliated evening paper...

Plot Keywords:

Political Oppression | Journalism | 1930s | Based On Novel

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Marcello Mastroianni	...	Pereira
Joaquim de Almeida	...	Manuel
Daniel Auteuil	...	Dr. Cardoso
Stefano Dionisi	...	Monteiro Rossi
Nicoletta Braschi	...	Marta
Marthe Keller	...	Mrs. Delgado
Teresa Madruga	...	Portiera
Nicolau Breyner	...	Father António
Filipe Ferrer	...	Silva
João Grosso	...	Police Chief
Mário Viegas	...	Newspaper Editor
Manuela Cassola
Fátima Marques
Rui Otero
Pedro Efe

Also Known As:

According to Pereira (USA)
Afirma Pereira (Portugal)
Pereira Declares
Pereira prétend (France)

Runtime:

Italy:104 min

Country:

Portugal | Italy | France

Language:

Italian | Portuguese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:7

Filming Locations:

Lisbon, Portugal

Company:

Fábrica de Imagens

Movie Connections:

Features A Revolução de Maio (1937)

Soundtrack:

A brisa do coração

Still convinces after a fourth viewing

A thoughtful story, impeccably acted, free from cinematic cliche, holding the attention at every moment, raising a few smiles, and lingering long in the memory. What more could a discerning filmgoer want? Good music? It's got that too (Dulce Pontes).

Mastroianni brings magisterially to life the outwardly grey and unremarkable literary journalist of the title - a widower approaching retirement age who lives on nostalgic memories of his wife, with whose photo he habitually converses, and tries to ignore the increasingly unpalatable turn things are taking around him owing to the rise of fascism (we're in late-30s Lisbon). His prudent, mild-mannered apoliticism comes under threat when he employs a naive and passionate Italian rebel as an obituary-writer, then discovers that his own generous human instincts oblige him reluctantly to intervene when the young Italian gets into trouble and has to go on the run from the authorities. Thus, he finds himself being drawn into political commitment in spite of his own instincts and lifelong habits - a transition he cannot explain even to himself except in terms of a picturesque philosophical theory ("community of souls") offered by his doctor (a sympathetic and amusing secondary character).

The film's memorable moments are many, including a grotesque reconstruction of fascist propaganda being shown at a cinema, a couple of finely-observed encounters between Pereira and his craven, dull-witted boss, and an unforgettable scene in which Pereira is forced to witness at first hand the sneering, lumpen brutality of Portugal's new fascist rulers (an event that finally prods him into taking decisive, if ultimately little more than symbolic, action).

This movie presents a struggle between opposing forces within the individual, with kindness and generosity ranged against prudent self-interest and force of habit, and it does so with delicacy and finesse.

No knowledge of Portugal's history is required or assumed, though it /is/ assumed that viewers will understand references to the Spanish Civil War and will be able to place the phenomenon of European fascism in some sort of historical/conceptual context. Period "feel" and locations are expertly re-created. All in all, a very creditable piece of film-making that stands up well to repeated viewings.