Pereira, an aging journalist, is the man behind the cultural column of a Lisbon newspaper. It is 1938, and Portugal has not suffered what its Iberian neighbor has gone through. Still, the times are tense because of the impending European conflict that will cause great turmoil in most of Europe. Pereira, a widower, obsessed with death, reads an article about the subject, something that moves him by its content, and wants to meet its author. Monteiro Rossi, the man in question, turns out to be a young Italian man trying to make sense of what is happening in Spain. It is clear, Rossi, and his girlfriend, Marta, are on the side fighting against Franco, and the fascist regime in his native Italy.
Pereira engages the young man to update the obituary section of his publication as there are many people whose biographies will soon appear in the newspaper. Pereira, loves his lemonade breaks at the Cafe Orquidea, a drink he usually add a lot of sugar. Not being in good health, he decides to explore one of the cures fashionable at the time, at a seaside resort, conducted by Dr. Cardozo. On the way to the spa, he meets a German woman in the train. She is a Jewish refugee awaiting the American visa that will take her to safer ground. He is clearly impressed by the woman's appeal for him to speak up about the madness that is sweeping Europe.
His experience with Dr. Cardozo helps Pereira shed some of the extra weight he has been carried. On his return to Lisbon, Pereira finds the atmosphere has changed. The super's wife, he realizes, is spying on him. His phone is being tapped. When Monteiro Rossi arrives at his apartment, it is clear the young man has been through a lot. Now, being persecuted, he asks Pereira to hide him, but unfortunately, it is too late. The Gestapo-like secret police comes to Pereira's home and Rossi falls victim of the rough treatment. Pereira can only do something in memory of his young friend. The essay he was handed by Rossi makes the front page of his newspaper. The only solution for Pereira is to go into exile before the police catches up with him.
Roberto Faenza, the director of this extraordinary film, adapted Antonio Tabucci's original Italian novel with the assistance of Sergio Vecchio. The result is an interesting political drama that captures the essence of the period before WWII, while the Spanish Civil War was raging in neighboring Spain. Pereira, the man at the center of the story, has always taken an easy posture of non-involvement, but faced with the madness of fascism in his own land, proves to be the catalyst for him to spring into action.
That Mr. Faenza was able to get the wonderful Marcello Mastroianni to portrait Pereira, was a lucky break, no doubt. The actor, almost at the end of his life, shows an intensity and passion for the man he is playing that it is an experience not to be missed. We watched this film at Anthology of Films Archives in New York, when it first was shown in America. Watching it again on an Argentine cable channel, recently, brought back fond memories for the film, Mr. Faenza, and Mr. Mastroianni. Others seen in the film include the great Daniel Auteuil, Joaquim De Almeida, Stefano Dionisi, Nicoletta Braschi, and Marthe Keller in a moving cameo role.
Blasco Giurato caught the essence of the Lisbon of those years in somber images of faded colors, as to enhance a story that took place long ago. Ennio Morricone does his usual magic with a musical score that also adds to our enjoyment. The film is recommended to the fans of Mr. Mastroianni in one of the best appearances before he left us, thanks to the inspired direction of Roberto Faenza.
Pereira engages the young man to update the obituary section of his publication as there are many people whose biographies will soon appear in the newspaper. Pereira, loves his lemonade breaks at the Cafe Orquidea, a drink he usually add a lot of sugar. Not being in good health, he decides to explore one of the cures fashionable at the time, at a seaside resort, conducted by Dr. Cardozo. On the way to the spa, he meets a German woman in the train. She is a Jewish refugee awaiting the American visa that will take her to safer ground. He is clearly impressed by the woman's appeal for him to speak up about the madness that is sweeping Europe.
His experience with Dr. Cardozo helps Pereira shed some of the extra weight he has been carried. On his return to Lisbon, Pereira finds the atmosphere has changed. The super's wife, he realizes, is spying on him. His phone is being tapped. When Monteiro Rossi arrives at his apartment, it is clear the young man has been through a lot. Now, being persecuted, he asks Pereira to hide him, but unfortunately, it is too late. The Gestapo-like secret police comes to Pereira's home and Rossi falls victim of the rough treatment. Pereira can only do something in memory of his young friend. The essay he was handed by Rossi makes the front page of his newspaper. The only solution for Pereira is to go into exile before the police catches up with him.
Roberto Faenza, the director of this extraordinary film, adapted Antonio Tabucci's original Italian novel with the assistance of Sergio Vecchio. The result is an interesting political drama that captures the essence of the period before WWII, while the Spanish Civil War was raging in neighboring Spain. Pereira, the man at the center of the story, has always taken an easy posture of non-involvement, but faced with the madness of fascism in his own land, proves to be the catalyst for him to spring into action.
That Mr. Faenza was able to get the wonderful Marcello Mastroianni to portrait Pereira, was a lucky break, no doubt. The actor, almost at the end of his life, shows an intensity and passion for the man he is playing that it is an experience not to be missed. We watched this film at Anthology of Films Archives in New York, when it first was shown in America. Watching it again on an Argentine cable channel, recently, brought back fond memories for the film, Mr. Faenza, and Mr. Mastroianni. Others seen in the film include the great Daniel Auteuil, Joaquim De Almeida, Stefano Dionisi, Nicoletta Braschi, and Marthe Keller in a moving cameo role.
Blasco Giurato caught the essence of the Lisbon of those years in somber images of faded colors, as to enhance a story that took place long ago. Ennio Morricone does his usual magic with a musical score that also adds to our enjoyment. The film is recommended to the fans of Mr. Mastroianni in one of the best appearances before he left us, thanks to the inspired direction of Roberto Faenza.