Striking
performances in a series of memorable cult movies have
given little warning of either the quality or the subject
matter of the second feature from Portuguese actress Maria
de Medeiros. Best known to English- language audiences
for her largely horizontal role as Bruce Willis' girlfriend
Fabienne in Pulp Fiction, Medeiros has
also featured in Philip Kaufman's Henry And June
(1990); The Death Of The Prince (1991);
and Spaniard Juanma Bajo Ulloa's 1998 Tarantino-esque
extravaganza, Airbag.
Capitaes
De Abril (Captains Of April) is a far cry
from Tarantino. The biggest-budget movie to have come
out of Portugal, this Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese
co-production relates the events of 25
April 1974, when 50 years of dictatorship came to an end.
The story is told through the eyes of three main characters
two army captains, and a young teacher/journalist,
Antonia, played by Medeiros herself.
Starting
with the song played over the radio which began the
revolution, the story has its roots in the memoirs of
the late Captain Salguiero Maia, one of the key participants
in the surrender of dictator Marcelo Caetano. It was
the double whammy of reading the memoirs and briefly
meeting Maia that aroused Medeiros' interest.
The
high-powered cast features actors well-known in their
own countries, which should generate sales in three
of the co-producing territories. Joaquim de Almeida
is there from Portugal alongside Stefano Accorsi from
Italy, while Spanish interest is maintained by Fele
MartÌnez and Airbag veteran Manuel
Manquina. "I think it was positive to do it this way
because we could get that sense of a film made by
friends," says Medeiros.
The
film treats serious events in a light-hearted way,
which has provoked criticism from some quarters in
Portugal. Medeiros defends herself by pointing out
that many
writings from and about that time
are shot through with humour. "The solemnity surrounding
25 April," she says, "is something recent, which came
long after." Characters such as the late dictator,
who are easy satirical targets, are presented sympathetically,
suggesting that her moral sense goes beyond simple
Tarantino-esque goody-baddy oppositions.
Jonathan
Holland
|
| Cast
|
Stefano
Accorsi, Luis Cavaleiro, Luis Miguel Cintra, Fele Martìnez,
Joaquim de Almeida |
| Scr |
Maria
de Medeiros, Eve Deboise |
| Producer |
Jacques Bidou, Alain Peyrollaz |
| Prod
co |
JBA Production, Mutante IPACA |
| Run
Time |
123
mins |
| Int'l
Sales |
Art
Box, Paris |
|
|
