The events that led to the elimination of the long and cruel dictatorship of Salazar in Portugal in April of 1974, are examined in this ambitious film directed by actress Maria de Medeiros. The screen play is a collaboration by Ms. de Medeiros and Eve Deboise. The story is both women's interpretation of what occurred in the country since the director was only 9 years old that fateful April.
The film pays tribute to the men that plotted the coup and the way they conducted themselves throughout the ordeal. The "Carnation Revolution", as it was baptized by the media, was an example restraint as there was no bloodshed during the days when it was happening, or in the days following, which brought Portugal to a democracy that had been denied to its citizens by a cruel dictator.
The main point of contention with the military men in charge of the coup was to correct the abuses Portugal had inflicted in the colonies in Africa, where they had been responsible for the deaths of countless of natives that wanted to get rid of the invaders. At the same time, many of Portuguese soldiers died during the wars that were waged overseas.
The basic problem with the story, the way it's told on the screen, is a weak screen play that doesn't fully make sense of most of what the viewer is watching. If the viewer doesn't have a certain background about what is going on, he will be lost by what the writers of the picture decided to focus the action on. There is also a problem with the action, which at times, has a flat feeling to it that renders some moments as static and meaningless.
This film will resonate with Portuguese, of course, because it marked the beginning of the actual democracy. Maria de Medeiros should have served the film better either by staying behind the camera, or letting some other director be in command. Stefano Accorsi, a fine Italian actor, is the best thing in the film as Maia. Joaquim de Almeida's Gervasio is a puzzle at best. When we first meet him, he appears to be in favor of the uprising, then changes his mind, only to come back on board again. This duality in his character doesn't help in the over all narrative. The same go for Frederic Pierrot, who plays Manuel, Antonia's husband. Fele Martinez, the Spanish actor, has little to do.
While the film is entertaining, another treatment for the story would have made a better and stronger movie. One wishes Maria de Medeiros to succeed. Perhaps the next time she will be better prepared to give her viewers a tighter and more controlled story.
The film pays tribute to the men that plotted the coup and the way they conducted themselves throughout the ordeal. The "Carnation Revolution", as it was baptized by the media, was an example restraint as there was no bloodshed during the days when it was happening, or in the days following, which brought Portugal to a democracy that had been denied to its citizens by a cruel dictator.
The main point of contention with the military men in charge of the coup was to correct the abuses Portugal had inflicted in the colonies in Africa, where they had been responsible for the deaths of countless of natives that wanted to get rid of the invaders. At the same time, many of Portuguese soldiers died during the wars that were waged overseas.
The basic problem with the story, the way it's told on the screen, is a weak screen play that doesn't fully make sense of most of what the viewer is watching. If the viewer doesn't have a certain background about what is going on, he will be lost by what the writers of the picture decided to focus the action on. There is also a problem with the action, which at times, has a flat feeling to it that renders some moments as static and meaningless.
This film will resonate with Portuguese, of course, because it marked the beginning of the actual democracy. Maria de Medeiros should have served the film better either by staying behind the camera, or letting some other director be in command. Stefano Accorsi, a fine Italian actor, is the best thing in the film as Maia. Joaquim de Almeida's Gervasio is a puzzle at best. When we first meet him, he appears to be in favor of the uprising, then changes his mind, only to come back on board again. This duality in his character doesn't help in the over all narrative. The same go for Frederic Pierrot, who plays Manuel, Antonia's husband. Fele Martinez, the Spanish actor, has little to do.
While the film is entertaining, another treatment for the story would have made a better and stronger movie. One wishes Maria de Medeiros to succeed. Perhaps the next time she will be better prepared to give her viewers a tighter and more controlled story.