Noite Escura (2004)

"Noite Escura" is a disturbing movie about the Portuguese underworld of prostitution.

Director:

João Canijo

Writers:

João Canijo, Pierre Hodgson,

Stars:

Fernando Luís, Rita Blanco, Beatriz Batarda

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fernando Luís	...	Nelson Pinto
Rita Blanco	...	Celeste Pinto
Beatriz Batarda	...	Carla Pinto
Cleia Almeida	...	Sónia Pinto
Natalya Simakova	...	Irka (as Nataliya Zymakova)
José Raposo	...	Nicolau, Nelson's Associate
Dmitry Bogomolov	...	Fyodor
João Reis	...	Sónia's Boyfriend
Anna Belozorovich	...	Irka's Friend
Antonio Ferreira	...	Pressure Cooker
Ramón Martinez	...	Sebastião
Ana Luísa Leão	...	Paloma
Anabela Moreira	...	Rute
Helena Alves	...	Iris
Jinie Rainho	...	Brigina

Storyline

João Canijo latest movie adapts a Greek tragedy "Ifigénia en Aulis" to a provincial Portuguese family that has to deal with the Russian Mafia after a deal went wrong. In a place where everything is bought and sold even the youngest daughter may have to be offered for prostitution to make up for a deal that went terribly wrong. "Noite Escura" deals with the emotions of a small family that runs a provincial whorehouse, having to sell their youngest in order to survive.

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Plot Keywords:

prostitution | greek tragedy | mafia | dying | singing | 

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Genres:

Drama | Crime

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [pt] (English, French, Portuguese)

Country:

Portugal

Language:

Portuguese Russian

Release Date:

21 October 2004 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

In the Darkness of the Night

Company Credits

Production Co:

Madragoa Filmes, Gémini Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Portugal's official submission to the 2006 Academy Awards.

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Connections

Followed by Mal Nascida (2007)

User Reviews

Very good, very dark

Excellent cinematography and above average performances, make this the one of the darkest, 'in your face' dramas ever produced in Portugal.

Beatriz Batarda is indeed one of the best Portuguese actresses of our time, and Fernando Luís surprises with a performance well beyond anything he's done in television.

Mr. Canijo continues to innovate with his camera work and overlapped dialogs. He's one of the few Portuguese directors who's not afraid to experiment concepts and techniques that haven't been usually used in the making of Portuguese Cinema.

9 out of 10.

Highly recommended.