Fernando Alves Pinto Movies
- 2007
In the early 1990s, Brazilian director João Moreira Salles (the brother of Central Station director Walter Salles, who hailed from a well-to-do background) - commenced work on a documentary about his family's flashy butler, Santiago, who had worked in-residence for the family since João was a boy. The film began as a traditional biographical documentary portrait of Santiago, an amazing character who spent an unholy amount of off time locating, organizing, sorting and filing information about the history of various wealthy and culturally elite families around the world. Salles did not shoot this original black-and-white footage spontaneously; it consists almost exclusively of Santiago acting out pre-determined, directed scenes in his own kitchen, or by his bookshelves, showing off his collected and assembled work - rich with descriptive, detailed reminiscences by the butler. Salles's film remained unfinished for a decade and a half, and in the interim, Santiago died. 15 years later, Salles picked up the black-and-white footage and edited it together with his own narration, which - when coupled with the director's recollections - provides an extended meditation on memory, the nature of identity and the essence of documentary work per se. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Santiago, Fernando Alves Pinto, (more)
- 2007
A radio astrologer who has devoted her entire career to illuminating the problems of her many listeners attempts to keep her own personal issues clearly separated from those of her troubled callers in actor-turned-director Carlos Alberto Riccelli's passionate ensemble drama. Teca (Bruna Lombardi, who also penned the screenplay) is a popular radio talk show host who uses her skills as an astrologist to help the masses. Having just gotten out of a particularly intense relationship, Teca is attempting to discover her true purpose in life when she makes the acquaintance of her handsome new neighbor Gil (Malvino Salvador). Unfortunately for Teca, Gil is married, leaving the lonely astrologer with precious little company other than her estranged, ailing father Anibal (Juca de Oliveira), who has recently been admitted to a local hospital. Later, when a deranged fan named Luis (Thiago Pinheiro) commits suicide in her apartment, Teca gradually begins to grow aware of the many divergent paths people can take in life. As Teca searches out Luis' grieving girlfriend Julia (Lais Marquis) in hopes of steering the woman away from a similarly gruesome fate, long buried family secrets are gradually unearthed, the transsexual best-friend of her faithful engineer falls victim to some particularly violent bigots, and the self-mutilating Julia eventually discovers why taking the easiest way out isn't always the wisest option. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruna Lombardi, Juca De Oliveira, (more)
- 2007
Brazilian director Lina Chamie's Portuguese-language comedy drama The Milky Way (AKA A Via Láctea, 2007) concerns a desperate Sao Paulo man named Heitor (Marco Ricca). Plagued by his three-year actress girlfriend Julia's (Alice Braga) decision to break off their relationship after a heated telephone argument - and by the growing conviction that he caused it - Heitor leaps into his car and begins a frantic drive across the city to reach the young woman and make amends. En route, Heitor not only runs headfirst into frustration when Murphy's Law throws one obstacle after another in his path, but reflects at length (in bittersweet flashbacks) on the vicissitudes of the relationship, and panics over the possibility that his perceived romantic "rival," stage actor Thiago (Fernando Alves Pinto) may be stealing Julia away from him at that very moment. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marco Ricca, Alice Braga, (more)
- 2000
As Carmen (Suzana Goncalves) prepares to marry for the fourth time, her three sisters find themselves juggling romantic predicaments of their own in this offbeat comedy from Brazil. Rose (Maria Zilda Bethlem), an artist who does better with paintings than she does with romance, is stuck in a going-nowhere romance with Gil (Herson Capri). Eleonora (Florinda Bolkan), the oldest, is a writer living in Italy who finds herself attracted to her adult stepdaughter, Selvaggia (Valentina Vicario). And Isabel (Ingra Liberato) lives in the United States, where she's married to a politician whose busy schedule leaves no room for the child she so desperately wants to have. Rose isn't sure what to do when she discovers Gil has been seeing a younger woman; Isabel has her purse stolen by a homeless child, whom she then decides to adopt; and Eleonora can't decide if she should be a parent or a lover to Selvaggia. Florinda Bolkan, who plays Eleonora, also served as writer and director. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Zilda Bethlem, Florinda Bolkan, (more)
- 2000
They say that music is the food of love, but one woodwind player is having a hard time getting the recipe right in this romantic drama. A hapless clarinet player (Fernando Alves Pinto) in a chamber ensemble is head over heels in love with the beautiful woman (Vera Zimmermann) who is first chair violinist in his group. He has a hard time gaining her attention, however, and when he volunteers to help as a page turner in her duet recital with a veteran pianist (Vera Holtz), he manages to spoil the job and make a mess of the performance. Will his heartfelt performance of a Bach piece be enough to win her heart and earn her forgiveness? Tonica Dominante was the first feature from writer and director Lina Chamie. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernando Alves Pinto, Vera Zimmermann, (more)
This beautifully photographed black and white Brazilian mystery chronicles the union between Paco, an aspiring actor living in Sao Paulo, and Brazil-born Alex, who works as a waitress in Lisbon, Portugal. Much of the tale is set in 1990 when Brazilian president Fernando Collor de Mello threw his country into an economic tailspin by suddenly confiscating the savings accounts of the entire population. At this time, Paco is living with his elderly mother in a poor Sao Paulo neighborhood. Tired of living in squalor, the mother dreams of returning to her native Spain. When she learns that her savings have been seized, the shocked old woman drops dead. Now without his mother, Paco feels little desire to stay in Brazil and so meets with the sleazy Igor, an antique dealer, and agrees to smuggle a violin stuffed with raw diamonds to Lisbon. Paco is to take the fiddle to a certain hotel where he will be paid by the contact. Unfortunately, he arrives, but the contact doesn't. This incident leads him down a twisted road filled with murder, danger and intrigue that eventually ends in the arms of Alex. In many films, this would be the end of the story, but not for Alex and Paco, for they cannot relax and enjoy their relationship unless they can somehow escape the murderous thugs Igor sent to kill them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernanda Torres, Fernando Alves Pinto, (more)
