Joaquim de Almeida Movies
A prominent international screen presence whose Golden Globe-nominated performance in the hit Fox series 24 has only served to cement his success in the United States, Joaquim de Almeida has found equal success on both American and European screens. Though he would tend the gardens at the Embassy of Zaire in Austria before testing his mettle as an actor, the Lisbon-born future star eventually set his sights on New York City. It was there that de Almeida first began to achieve fame as a performer in numerous New York Shakespeare Festival productions, with early roles in Miami Vice and The Soldier first bringing him to the attention of American viewers. Though indeed a skilled English-language performer, it was de Almeida's proficiency in Spanish, German, Italian, and French (in addition, of course, to his native Portuguese), that truly helped him to expand into the international film market. Throughout the 1990s, de Almeida's career continued to pick up steam thanks to performances in such widely seen efforts as Robert Rodriguez's Desperado and the sprawling miniseries Nostromo. In 1997, the actor found his continued efforts before the camera finally beginning to pay off when he was awarded a Portuguese Golden Globe for his spellbinding performance in the romantic drama Tentação. Though few would have the opportunity to see de Almeida exchange gunfire with Emilio Estevez in the hybrid spaghetti Western-Hong Kong action flick A Dollar for the Dead when the film proved dead on arrival, subsequent roles in Behind Enemy Lines and the 2003 miniseries Kingpin served well to keep him a recognizable international player.In the early 2000s, it began to appear as if television was the medium in which de Almeida truly shined. If a recurring role as Ramon Salazar on Fox's 24 wasn't enough for viewers, de Almeida could also be spotted on The West Wing and Wanted. Subsequent performances in such features as The Celestine Prophecy and Moscow Zero -- as well as voice-over work in the controversial video game Saints Row -- preceded a particularly heartfelt turn as painter Óscar Domínguez in the 2007 biopic Óscar -- El Color del Destino. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- R
Soviets steal a cache of plutonium leaving one rogue super CIA agent to steal it back and save the world. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Wahl, Klaus Kinski, (more)
- 1983
John Mackenzie directed this schematic adaptation of Graham Greene's best-selling thriller The Honorary Consul. Richard Gere stars as Dr. Eduardo Plarr, a brilliant doctor who has chosen to practice in the provinces rather than the teeming city of Buenos Aires because his father remains a political prisoner in Paraguay. As the story begins, Plarr is awaiting word from his father after years of silence. One day Leon (Joaquim de Almeida), an old childhood friend, contacts him. Leon was a priest who had left the church and is now working for the Paraguayan underground. Leon blackmails Plarr into obtaining information on an upcoming visit to the province by the United States Ambassador. Leon's plan is to kidnap the ambassador and hold him for ransom in order to obtain the release of Paraguayan political prisoners -- including Plarr's father. The source for the information is an alcoholic has-been, Charley Fortnum (Michael Caine), the province's honorary British counsel, whose wife Clara (Elpidia Carrillo) also happens to be Plarr's mistress. When the kidnapping goes wrong, Plarr is forced to re-examine his relationship with Clara and with Charley, whose betrayal by Plarr has put Charley's life in jeopardy. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Richard Gere, (more)
- 1986
Filled with a collage of characters and incidents, this mystery story exceeds in ambience and mood. "Reporter X" has come home to Portugal, sick and drugged up with pain killers. Neverthless, he intends to unravel the mystery of a headless corpse and a mask in a box. Once on that trail, he talks to what might be a Moroccan spy and develops a relationship with a Jewish woman. The woman's mother is quite an off-the-wall character who knows how to concoct a disease that could destory life as we know it. All told, Reporter X might have enough reason to go back on the pain killers again. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- PG13
The always innovative Taviani Brothers pay homage to another unique filmmaker, D. W. Griffith, in Good Morning, Babylon. Vincent Spano and Joaquim de Almeida star as Nicola and Andrea Bonnano, the latest in a long line of Tuscany-born cathedral builders. Emigrating to America, the brothers settle in Los Angeles in 1915, even as director Griffith (Charles Dance) is preparing his epic production Intolerance. The boys are hired to help construct the massive sets for the film's Babylonian sequence (hence the title), for no other reason than the fact that Griffith is impressed by Italian craftsmanship. As the film progresses, Nicola and Andrea assimilate to their new surroundings, even launching a romance with a pair of pretty movie extras. On the verge of continuing the family tradition, the boys' ambitions are cut short by events well beyond their control. Still, their past artistic accomplishments, like those of their forebears, survive the ages -- but only on the ethereal silver screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Spano, Joaquim de Almeida, (more)
- 1987
Isabelle Huppert stars in this thriller as Sarah, a woman who has settled into a more or less normal life in Milan after her lover, a much-wanted terrorist, left the scene. Her life becomes complicated indeed when she becomes aware that he is about to return. The difficulty is that not only is she aware of this, but the police and various underworld groups are also. How is she to protect her own life under the circumstances, much less keep her lover from falling prey to the various traps that are being set for him? ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Huppert, Joaquim de Almeida, (more)
- 1987
This independently-produced feature concerns a New York woman (Mila Burnette) who's fed up with her marriage and her life. Leaving her comfortable mid-town environs, she takes up residence in the far less attractive South Bronx. Here she falls in love with a Puerto Rican attorney (Joaquim de Almeida) and becomes swept up in social activism. Jose Ferrer is the most recognizable cast member, at least so far as American audiences are concerned; in Portugal, Joaquim de Almeida was considered a much bigger star than Ferrer -- or practically anyone else. Director Kevin Conway shows up in a brief supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mila Burnette, Joaquim de Almeida, (more)
- 1989
The name of painter Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806) is synonymous for a kind of painting style which celebrates carefree romantic life, indoors and out. He was a painter during the final decades of the French monarchy. In this story, he and his brother Cyprien (Robin Renucci), who is an early pioneer in medical anatomy (he dissected corpses and made drawings of what he found in them), have fallen in love with the same woman, Marianne (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu), a laundress. This attraction has not escaped the notice of Salmon d'Anglas (Sami Frey), a conniving nobleman, who has his heart set on getting revenge on Jean-Honore (Joachim de Almeida) for refusing his patronage and becoming the darling of the French court. This period drama is the first film to be directed by former movie critic Philippe LeGuay. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joaquim de Almeida, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, (more)
- 1990
Guerilla wars against the major powers have been a factor in Central American politics for a long time. This biographical drama is based on the life of Nicaragua's prototypical 20th century guerilla, Augusto C. Sandino (born as Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino). His name and life were the inspiration for the anti-U.S. forces in that country fifty years after his death: they called themselves the Sandanistas. It is helpful to remember, and this movie demonstrates, that the U.S. military has been actively involved with the domestic politics of Nicaragua many times in this century, most notably during the 1912 invasion which resulted in over twenty continuous years of U.S. military intervention. In the story, Sandino loves two women: his wife, who remains at home, and his warlike mistress, a guerilla who accompanies him into the jungle. He has a tendency (common at the time) of wanting to trust politicians. As a result, he was betrayed by Anastasio Somoza in 1933, and vanished from sight. Somoza soon became the sole ruler of Nicaragua (from 1936 to 1956). The free-thinking rebel, who renamed himself Augusto César Sandino in the late 1920s, identified strongly with the indios or indigenous people of the region, and proposed a political agenda under which the countries of the Central America would unite against European exploitation. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kris Kristofferson, Dean Stockwell, (more)
- 1990
A number of colonial wars in Africa in the 1970s have resulted in the conscription of Alex's father Pedro into the Portuguese Army. The young man and his father write to one another frequently, and it seems as if they are still close. However, at some point, the letters stop coming. Alex and his mother are worried that Pedro might have been killed or captured, but that particular concern is soon replaced by another when they learn from a returning soldier that Pedro has been back in Portugal for several months. When he is persuaded to return to his home, it becomes clear that he might have been wiser to stay away. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Gallo, Teresa Roby, (more)
- 1992
It is 1620, and the young King of Spain (Gabino Diego) is technically a married man, because the great churchmen have conducted a grand public wedding ceremony joining him with a wife. However, as the real rulers of the state, they have perversely kept him completely innocent in matters of sex, so that his marriage remains unconsummated. One day, one of the king's few friends sees to it that he gets to spend a little time with a high-class prostitute (Laura del Sol). In fact, she's so high class that she's the favorite whore for the Grand Inquisitor himself. After the king's initiation into the joys of the female body, he publicly declares his desire to see his queen naked, which scandalizes his prudish and very hypocritical court. The Inquisitor (Fernando Fernan Gomez), when he learns of the boy's meeting with the prostitute, issues two conflicting instructions to two different aides. He sends one to have her arrested and another to warn her to go into hiding. That kind of convoluted behavior is the norm in this humorous historical drama. One of the controversies the court entertains itself with is whether or not the king committed adultery with the prostitute, since it could be alleged that he wasn't quite completely married at the time, according to the legal and theological conventions of the time. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabino Diego, Laura del Sol, (more)
- 1992
For Astarlos, living in Madrid at the time of the troubled rule of Isabel the Second in 1868, fencing is not an outmoded method of personal combat, but it is a way of life. It teaches lessons about comportment, attention, responsiveness to others, and taking responsibility for one's own life. Further, it is an aristocratic art, and the heart of aristocratic sentiment (no matter what one's station of life at birth) is to take responsibility for those who are less fortunate than oneself. Noblesse oblige. In this drama, the fencing master seeks to remain true to his values during a turbulent time which imperils his student's lives. One student is a beautiful and mysterious young woman, another is a handsome lad of aristocratic birth. Among the outsiders impinging on their lives are a police inspector and a passionate revolutionary. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omero Antonutti, Assumpta Serna, (more)
Ana (Carmen Maura) is a veterinarian living in the country with her daughter. She has a comfortable, settled life. From time to time, Dario (Fernando Valverde), one of her co-workers, stops by her farmhouse for a meal, but otherwise her life seems placid and timeless. This all changes when she meets Jose (Joaquim de Almeida), a handsome young man who becomes her lover. Not until she is thoroughly involved with him does she discover that he is an ex-convict and an arms smuggler. Inevitably, she is drawn into some shady business. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carmen Maura, Joaquim de Almeida, (more)
- 1993
Whenever people are released from their society's constraints, there is the possibility that they will behave badly, at least according to the rules of the society they have left behind. This seems to have been particularly the case for Europeans living in colonial establishments in Africa and Asia. In this drama, based on a story by Stefan Zweig, Dr. Steiner (Andrzej Seweryn) was caught with his fingers in the till at a German hospital. Rather than prosecute him, they gave him the option of emigrating elsewhere. He chose to serve at a clinic in a remote part of Portuguese Goa. He has been on his best behavior for years, but when the beautiful wife (Fanny Ardant) of a diplomat comes to him asking for an abortion, he is tempted to ask for sexual favors in return, and his life swiftly goes out of control. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fanny Ardant, Andrzej Seweryn, (more)
- 1993
Antonio (Santiago Alonso) has been puzzled by a number of events which happened over a short period of time during a summer vacation outside of Madrid a decade earlier. They all concerned the family and household of a man he only knew as "the Nazi." With some persistence in pestering his family, a lot of memory work (seen as flashbacks in the film) and some plain old footwork, he pieces together the events of that time and finally comes to understand what really happened. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omero Antonutti, Joaquim de Almeida, (more)
A woman throws caution to the wind in the pursuit of the man of her dreams -- whom she's never met -- in this romantic comedy. Eleven-year-old Faith (Tammy Minoff) and her cousin Kate (Jessica Hertel) are playing with a Ouiji Board when Faith asks who she will marry -- the magic oracle answers "DAMON BRADLEY," and Faith is convinced that she will one day meet this ideal love. Fifteen years later, Faith (Marisa Tomei) has yet to meet her perfect man and has settled for Dwayne (John Benjamin Hickey), a sweet but boring foot doctor whom she's engaged to marry, with Kate (Bonnie Hunt) helping her plan the festivities. The day before the ceremony, Faith gets a call from one of the groom's friends, who won't be able to attend because he's travelling to Italy instead -- and his name is Damon Bradley. Convinced that fate is trying to tell her something, Faith hops on the next flight to Venice, where she searches for the elusive Damon, and along the way meets the charming Peter Wright (Robert Downey, Jr.). This was Tomei and Downey's second romantic pairing, following their roles in the biopic Chaplin. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey, Jr., (more)
This is the third film based on Tom Clancy's high-tech espionage potboilers starring CIA deputy director Jack Ryan. Harrison Ford, returning to the Ryan role after his first go-round in 1992's Patriot Games, is assigned to a delicate anti-drug investigation after a close friend of the President (a Reaganesque Donald Moffat) is murdered by a Colombian drug cartel. When Ryan discovers that the President's wealthy friend was in league with the cartel, the President's devious national security adviser (Harris Yulin) and an ambitious CIA deputy director (Henry Czerny) send a secret paramilitary force into Colombia to wipe out the drug lords. The force is captured and then abandoned by the President's lackeys. It falls to Ryan to enter Colombia and rescue them, aided only by a renegade operative named Clark (Willem Dafoe), with both his life and career on the line. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harrison Ford, Willem Dafoe, (more)
Director Robert Rodriguez picks up where his successful independent debut El Mariachi left off with this slam-bang South of the Border action saga. Bucho (Joaquim DeAlmeida) is a wealthy but casually bloodthirsty drug kingpin who rules a seedy Mexican border town. Bucho and his men make the mistake of angering El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas), a former musician who now carries an arsenal in his guitar case. Bucho was responsible for the death of El Mariachi's girlfriend and put a bullet through his fretting hand, making him unable to play the guitar. Bent on revenge, the musician-turned-killing machine arrives in town to put Bucho out of business, though he finds few allies except for Carolina (Salma Hayek), who runs a bookstore that doesn't seem to attract many readers. Desperado features supporting performances from Cheech Marin as a cynical bartender, Steve Buscemi as the cantina patron who sets up the story, and Quentin Tarantino as a man with a really terrible joke to tell. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, (more)
- 1995
This Portuguese language comedy is about a very contemporary love triangle. Caterina (Maria de Medeiros) is a beautiful, opportunistic and charming woman, a TV journalist. She pretends to be smitten by a handsome political do-gooder in order to gain an exclusive interview with him. She also uses him to father her baby. However, she is definitely not in love with him. Her true love is her lesbian girlfriend Te (Ana Bustorff). Caterina's pregnancy makes Te feel extremely insecure about their relationship. Caterina has been forced to co-host a program with career rival Francisco (Joaquim de Almeida), which neither she nor Francisco wanted. As their rivalry develops into friendship, Francisco begins to try to woo Caterina and he is not summarily rebuffed by her. This friendship only adds to Te's concerns as the movie goes on to its humorous (but very contemporary) happy ending. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
