Frei Luís de Sousa
2013
Synopsis
One family. Two houses. A man lost in war.
Madalena de Vilhena (Ana Sampaio) loses her husband, Dom João de Portugal, at the battle of Alcácer Quibir. For seven years she ceaselessly, but unsuccessfully, searches for him. Because her heart still beats, Madalena marries Manuel de Sousa (Cátia Tomé), with whom she has a daughter, Maria (Pedro Penim). Knowing nothing about her mother's past, Maria develops an unusual interest in war stories about Alcácer Quibir and the unknown whereabouts of El-Rei Dom Sebastião. Her curiosity is fostered by her servant, Telmo (Ivo Silva), who eternally believes in the possible return of his former master. But can the sick warrior return home after wandering on the threshold of death for so long?
Frei Jorge (Rita Morais), Madalena’s confidant, with the help of his partner Miranda (Ricardo Teixeira), communicates the news that coerce Manuel, his brother, not only to burn down his own home, but also to flee with his family to Madalena’s former house, which belonged to Dom João de Portugal.
It is then that Dom João de Portugal, disguised as Romeiro, returns to his country, to his home and to Madalena, forcing tragedy to happen: as a form of atonement for their adulterous union, Madalena and Manuel (now Soror Madalena and Frei Luís de Sousa) commit themselves to monastic lives. Maria, their illegitimate daughter, dies of shame. But what if Dom João de Portugal, like Dom Sebastião, did not return? Should we wait for him ad eternum, as if waiting for Godot? Should we waste the meaning of words by repeating them so much? Should we transfigure ourselves into images that are echoes of themselves, that are lost and encapsulate us in a temporal-space void? Or, on the contrary, should we 1. celebrate the story, the tragedy, and the film, all three of them so determinedly self-refusing to comply, or 2. reject a past that no longer means anything to us?
Trailer
Credits
Idea, adaptation, dramaturgy
SillySeason
Cast
Ana Sampaio, Cátia Tomé, Ivo Silva, Pedro Penim, Ricardo Teixeira, Rita Morais
Production
SillySeason, Kinéma
Editing
João Leitão
Cameras, lighting coordination and sound recording
Kinéma
Makeup
Patrícia Marques
Products
Make up for Ever
Costume
Os Burgueses
Support
Escola Secundária de Camões, Fermentopão
Premiere
Queer Lisboa - Lisbon Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
2014
Award
Best Portuguese Short Film
Queer Lisboa - Lisbon Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
2014
Frei Luís de Sousa
2013
Synopsis
One family. Two houses. A man lost in war.
Madalena de Vilhena (Ana Sampaio) loses her husband, Dom João de Portugal, at the battle of Alcácer Quibir. For seven years she ceaselessly, but unsuccessfully, searches for him. Because her heart still beats, Madalena marries Manuel de Sousa (Cátia Tomé), with whom she has a daughter, Maria (Pedro Penim). Knowing nothing about her mother's past, Maria develops an unusual interest in war stories about Alcácer Quibir and the unknown whereabouts of El-Rei Dom Sebastião. Her curiosity is fostered by her servant, Telmo (Ivo Silva), who eternally believes in the possible return of his former master. But can the sick warrior return home after wandering on the threshold of death for so long?
Frei Jorge (Rita Morais), Madalena’s confidant, with the help of his partner Miranda (Ricardo Teixeira), communicates the news that coerce Manuel, his brother, not only to burn down his own home, but also to flee with his family to Madalena’s former house, which belonged to Dom João de Portugal.
It is then that Dom João de Portugal, disguised as Romeiro, returns to his country, to his home and to Madalena, forcing tragedy to happen: as a form of atonement for their adulterous union, Madalena and Manuel (now Soror Madalena and Frei Luís de Sousa) commit themselves to monastic lives. Maria, their illegitimate daughter, dies of shame. But what if Dom João de Portugal, like Dom Sebastião, did not return? Should we wait for him ad eternum, as if waiting for Godot? Should we waste the meaning of words by repeating them so much? Should we transfigure ourselves into images that are echoes of themselves, that are lost and encapsulate us in a temporal-space void? Or, on the contrary, should we 1. celebrate the story, the tragedy, and the film, all three of them so determinedly self-refusing to comply, or 2. reject a past that no longer means anything to us?
Trailer
Credits
Idea, adaptation, dramaturgy
SillySeason
Cast
Ana Sampaio, Cátia Tomé, Ivo Silva, Pedro Penim, Ricardo Teixeira, Rita Morais
Production
SillySeason, Kinéma
Editing
João Leitão
Cameras, lighting coordination and sound recording
Kinéma
Makeup
Patrícia Marques
Products
Make up for Ever
Costume
Os Burgueses
Support
Escola Secundária de Camões, Fermentopão
Premiere
Queer Lisboa - Lisbon Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
2014
Prémio
Melhor curta-metragem portuguesa
Festival Internacional de cinema Queer de Lisboa
2014
Press