IMDb RATING
5.3/10
606
YOUR RATING
The Forest of the Lost Souls is a dense and remote forest, Portugal's most popular place for suicide. On a summer morning, two strangers meet within the woods.The Forest of the Lost Souls is a dense and remote forest, Portugal's most popular place for suicide. On a summer morning, two strangers meet within the woods.The Forest of the Lost Souls is a dense and remote forest, Portugal's most popular place for suicide. On a summer morning, two strangers meet within the woods.
- Awards
- 4 wins & 6 nominations
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAll entries contain spoilers
- GoofsThe forest where the characters are isn't geographically correct: they are most of the time at Caramulo (central Portugal) but at one point they are in a lake in Spain.
- ConnectionsFeatured in O lugar que ocupas (2016)
- SoundtracksSmoke Break
Performed by Hann Cassady
Featured review
Interesting premise but many lengths
The Forest of the Lost Souls is a Portuguese psychological thriller that mixes arthouse cinema with slaughterhouse passages. Shot in black and white and featuring few dialogues, the movie revolves around a young woman and an elderly man who meet in a forest that is known for its elevated number of suicide cases. The film focuses on the consequence of their fateful chance meeting.
On the positive side, the film oozes with atmosphere. The images in black and white, the lack of dialogues and the isolated natural landscapes complement one another very well. The acting performances are strong enough to get you interested in the main characters and their background stories. The movie gets more violent in the second half but the transition is coherent, precise and tense as it never feels rushed. The numerous allusions to different works of literature give the film a somewhat intellectual touch that suits its overall style very well.
On the negative side, this movie is particularly short with a running time of only seventy-three minutes. The fact that this movie is sold for nearly forty bucks in Canada is quite outrageous. In addition to this, the film has numerous lengths. The opening ten minutes offer an exposition consisting of shots introducing the natural landscapes and the main characters before any noteworthy action unfolds. The final ten minutes offer a resolution consisting of shots from a music festival and a short conversation on a cell phone that don't add anything to the film. If the director had gotten rid of the unnecessary exposition and resolution as well as of lengthy shots portraying natural landscapes, then the whole story could have been told in less than forty minutes without leaving anything out or rushing any elements. The script should have been much more elaborate as the promising premise isn't exploited to its entire potential.
In the end, The Forest of the Lost Souls is a psychological thriller with mild horror elements that convinces with its strong atmosphere, sinister cinematic elements and promising premise. However, the movie is very short and nevertheless includes numerous lengths. The Blu-ray of the movie includes some very short looks behind the scenes, one minute of deleted scenes and a short film entitled St. John that has a length of one minute and a half. Apparently, director and writer José Pedro Lopes likes to keep things short. If that's your kind of thing as well, don't hesitate to give this independent flick from Portugal a chance.
On the positive side, the film oozes with atmosphere. The images in black and white, the lack of dialogues and the isolated natural landscapes complement one another very well. The acting performances are strong enough to get you interested in the main characters and their background stories. The movie gets more violent in the second half but the transition is coherent, precise and tense as it never feels rushed. The numerous allusions to different works of literature give the film a somewhat intellectual touch that suits its overall style very well.
On the negative side, this movie is particularly short with a running time of only seventy-three minutes. The fact that this movie is sold for nearly forty bucks in Canada is quite outrageous. In addition to this, the film has numerous lengths. The opening ten minutes offer an exposition consisting of shots introducing the natural landscapes and the main characters before any noteworthy action unfolds. The final ten minutes offer a resolution consisting of shots from a music festival and a short conversation on a cell phone that don't add anything to the film. If the director had gotten rid of the unnecessary exposition and resolution as well as of lengthy shots portraying natural landscapes, then the whole story could have been told in less than forty minutes without leaving anything out or rushing any elements. The script should have been much more elaborate as the promising premise isn't exploited to its entire potential.
In the end, The Forest of the Lost Souls is a psychological thriller with mild horror elements that convinces with its strong atmosphere, sinister cinematic elements and promising premise. However, the movie is very short and nevertheless includes numerous lengths. The Blu-ray of the movie includes some very short looks behind the scenes, one minute of deleted scenes and a short film entitled St. John that has a length of one minute and a half. Apparently, director and writer José Pedro Lopes likes to keep things short. If that's your kind of thing as well, don't hesitate to give this independent flick from Portugal a chance.
helpful•10
- kluseba
- Jan 1, 2021
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- El bosque de las almas perdidas
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $1,502
- Runtime1 hour 11 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD
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By what name was The Forest of the Lost Souls (2017) officially released in Canada in English?
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