Lines of Wellington (2012)
"Linhas de Wellington" (original title)

Director:

Valeria Sarmiento

Writer:

Carlos Saboga

Stars:

Nuno Lopes, Soraia Chaves, Marisa Paredes

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nuno Lopes	...	Sargento Francisco Xavier
Soraia Chaves	...	Martírio
Marisa Paredes	...	D. Filipa Sanches
John Malkovich	...	General Wellington
Carloto Cotta	...	Tenente Pedro de Alencar
Victória Guerra	...	Clarissa
Marcello Urgeghe	...	Major Jonathan Foster
Jemima West	...	Maureen
José Afonso Pimentel	...	Zé Maria
Miguel Borges	...	Manuel Penabranca
Mathieu Amalric	...	Barão Marbot
Melvil Poupaud	...	Marechal Massena
Filipe Vargas	...	Vicente de Almeida
Adriano Luz	...	Bordalo
João Arrais	...	Idiot

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

year 1810 | napoleonic era | troops | wellington | cult director | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

France Portugal

Language:

Portuguese English French

Release Date:

4 October 2012 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Lines of Wellington

Filming Locations:

Folgosinho, Gouveia, Portugal

Box Office

Budget:

€4,800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alfama Films, Clap Filmes, France 3 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

151 min 151 min 135 min (theatrical)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Raoul Ruiz died in August 2011 during preproduction. Producer Paulo Branco offered the job of directing to actor John Malkovich, but Malkovich felt he wouldn't be able to do justice to Ruiz's vision, recommending instead Ruiz's widow and long-time collaborator, Valeria Sarmiento.

User Reviews

Watchable but quite disappointing.

If you think about the French Invasions of the 19th Century, you think about a time of war, tragedy, heroism, violence and excesses. It is the perfect plot for an epic movie. Unfortunately, in the case of "Linhas de Wellington", the movie is Portuguese. Don't get me wrong, I am Portuguese too. What I mean is that we, as a nation, have a very hard time dealing with our own heritage and heroes. I don't know, perhaps deep inside each of us knows how short we fell of living up to our forefathers extraordinary legacy. Anyway, regardless of the reason why, the fact is that we do not give enough praise to the best among us, and that reflects on our modern art in general and in this movie in particular. That being said, instead of all the drama, heroism and war, this movie shows the story of simple people, ordinary anonymous folks, leaving their land as the French Army advances. Unfortunately, there are too many characters, not shown long enough for the viewer too actually identify himself with any of them. That turns the movie into a tale about people you don't really care for. As for the Duque of Wellington, the way he is portrayed is nothing short of revolting... As you would expect from a Portuguese movie because of all I said above. As a conclusion, "Linhas de Wellington" is a big disappointment. It is watchable, but nothing more than that.