Cinema and Popcorn

Another one from the Portuguese shortlist. Just like Pedro Costa's visual masterpiece Vitalina Varela , Ana Rocha de Sousa's Listen also made an impression in this year's film festival circuit - Venice Film Festival, to be more specific.  Have a look at Ana Rocha de Sousa's Listen : " In the London suburbs, Bela and Jota face serious difficulties when "social services" raise concerns about the safety of their three children. The 7-year-old daughter's deafness triggers a process in the system that seems to go on forever. " FLASH REVIEW: Ana Rocha de Sousa makes her directorial debut with Listen . As you watch it, you can see it does feel like a directorial debut, but what might lack in refined directing or personal style, it overcomes with honesty and a raw emotional punch in key scenes. In fact, the director doesn't lack an assured hand - she can be really heavy-handed in a couple of scenes. But you know what? It works! The movie is about a ...

The Portuguese Academy of Cinema (Academia Portuguesa de Cinema) has announced the finalists shortlist of Portuguese movies to be submitted for the Best International Film Oscar category: Pedro Costa's Vitalina Varela ; Ana Rocha de Sousa's Listen ; João Nuno Pinto's Mosquito ; and Gonçalo Waddington's Patrick . One of them will be the official submission. Four very different movies and I still have one left to watch - Patrick - but I consider 2020 to be one of the strongest years (if not the strongest) in terms of Portuguese final shortlist. Let's have a look at Pedro Costa's Vitalina Varela : A Cape Verdean woman navigates her way through Lisbon, following the scanty physical traces her deceased husband left behind and discovering his secret, illicit life . (source IMDb) FLASH REVIEW: Pedro Costa seems to be back to his previous film Horse Money 's universe - our lead's (Vitalina Varela) fate crosses Ventura's as she discovers about the life of h...