A Talking Picture (Um Filme Falado)
A beautiful history professor (Leonor da Silveira) and her 8-year-old daughter embark on a Mediterranean cruise from Lisbon to Bombay. Along the way, they talk about myths, legends and the milestones of Mediterranean civilization. Their compelling discourse about the history of Western civilization eventually includes the ship's captain, Comandante John Walesa (John Malkovich). Also stars Irene Papas and Stefania Sandrelli.
Member Reviews
What a stinker! - Island_Mami
Good grief, what a snoozefest! I only hung in to the end because I had nothing else to do.
The first 3/4 of an hour was a slow travelogue of little or no interest with mother and daughter from Lisbon, Marseilles, Naples, Athens, Istanbul to the Suez Canal. Along the way, the daughter chimes in with all sorts of child-questions like "what's 'civilization'?" and "what's a 'myth'?" whose answers are not interesting.
I fell into a fit of narcolepsy during the lunchtime conversation that the captain (played by John Malcovich) has with three women (are Catherine Deneuve, Irene Papas, and Stefania Sandrelli that short of decent roles?!).
But it got not better: the ending is absurd.
Yet amazingly, some critics raved. Go figure.Superb - Port_Moresby
Manoel de Oliveira, who was an astonishing 95 at the time he made this film, creates an obviously allegorical but satisfying and memorable film that examines human relations throughout the centuries. A Portuguese history professor (Leonor Silveira) takes her daughter on a tour of the Mediterranean on her way to meeting her airline pilot husband in Bombay, stopping in Marseilles, Athens, Istanbul and Cairo and giving her daughter explicit instruction in the history of these cultures. This beautiful triptych, during which the woman amazingly never gets tired of her little girl’s three thousand questions a minute, culminates in a beautiful final act when the captain of the ship (John Malkovich) that she is travelling on invites her to join him at his table. There she listens to him discuss the state of art, culture and politics today, both personal and global with three famous European women (Stefania Sandrelli, Irene Papas, Catherine Deneuve). The film’s title is no pun, literally is one conversation after another, but it is wholly engaging and thought-provoking, with an ending that pushes the envelope of sense but helps put the film’s exploratory aims into sharp perspective. Sandrelli, Papas and Deneuve are luminous, showing no signs of slowing down their uber-glamour, while the man behind the camera displays an adoration for humanity that most people decades younger than him have already lost.Didactic - leftbank
Good portrayal of Eurocentric views on Mediterranean history. In two scenes the polyglot conversation between the women was enjoyable without being pretentious. I suspect the final message was tacked on to ensure financing in a market obsessed with “creating democracy” but the disconnect between the average audience and a supposedly educated professor’s views of world history would prevent this piece of propaganda from influencing many. Not all nations are born out of war. Some including Britain, Italy and the U.S. are convenient fabrications resulting from the adoption of alien ideas.
Member Reviews
Read All...
What a stinker! - Island_Mami
Good grief, what a snoozefest! I only hung in to the end because I had nothing else to do.
The first 3/4 of an hour was a slow travelogue of little or no interest with mother and daughter from Lisbon, Marseilles, Naples, Athens, Istanbul to the Suez Canal. ...Superb - Port_Moresby
Manoel de Oliveira, who was an astonishing 95 at the time he made this film, creates an obviously allegorical but satisfying and memorable film that examines human relations throughout the centuries. A Portuguese history professor (Leonor Silveira) takes ...Didactic - leftbank
Good portrayal of Eurocentric views on Mediterranean history. In two scenes the polyglot conversation between the women was enjoyable without being pretentious. I suspect the final message was tacked on to ensure financing in a market obsessed with “creating ...