Party (1996)

Director:

Manoel de Oliveira

Writers:

Manoel de Oliveira (scenario)
Agustina Bessa-Luís (dialogue)

Release Date:

2 October 1996 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

The battle of the sexes? The forces of despair and seduction? On S. Miguel in the Azores, Rogério, a young man with old money...

Plot Keywords:

Party | Seaside | Villa | Wedding Anniversary

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Michel Piccoli	...	Michel
Irene Papas	...	Irene
Leonor Silveira	...	Leonor
Rogério Samora	...	Rogério
Sofia Alves	...	Rapariga

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Portugal | France

Language:

Portuguese | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Portugal

Company:

Madragoa Filmes

Beautiful movie by Oliveira

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The first Oliveira movie I saw (about some 10 years ago; I have since seen several more of his movies and come to consider him a major director), I can't say I remember much of the plot, but the movie started with a beautiful shot of the waves breaking at the rocks of some cliff in the Portuguese coast. The film is basically about two couples, a young one and an old one (the lovely - and Oliveira regular - Leonor Silveira, Rogerio Samora, Michel Piccoli and Irene Papas) in two extended sequences. The first sequence happened in a garden party of some sort by the sea that is interrupted by a storm, the other happens some time later in a castle. The second sequence showed some argument between the couples, involving jealousy of some sort about something that happened in the first sequence. It is a talky movie, but even if I can remember the movie in all its details, I definitely remember being surprised at the unusual rhythm brought forward by this unique director.