Jose Pinto Movies
When a wealthy and predominant family inherits a beautiful historic home in a tiny Portuguese village, local superstition claims that they have also inherited a deadly curse in director Tiago Guedes' atmospheric frightener. Dr. Monteiro has always given his wife and children the very best that money can buy, but after inheriting a sprawling estate in the countryside he ignores their pleas to sell it for a profit and instead decides to move the family in. It doesn't take long for the family to realize that the superstitious locals view the house as cursed, and as a series of ominous events begin to unfold it becomes frighteningly apparent that there may be some element of truth to the dreadful rumors. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adriano Luz, Manuela Couto, (more)
- 1998
In order to make some much-needed cash for himself, 65-year-old Portuguese prison inmate Eugenio impersonates a young woman and begins a romantic correspondence with a lonely Portuguese truck-driver living in Boston, convincing him that her tragic life has culminated in financial dire straits so he will send money. At first Eugenio's sister Idalina assists him in creating the character of Maria da Luz. Touched by her sweetness and apparent loving nature, the trucker willingly sends her money. When Idalina starts fearing they will be caught, she backs out of her arrangement with Eugenio who then convinces his young cellmate Vasco to help write the letters and even sends a picture of himself at age seven to "prove" that Maria has a young son. As prison life exacts an increasingly heavy toll upon Eugenio's health, his feminine alter-ego helps sustain him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Canto Castro, Francisco Nascimento, (more)
- 1998
Joao Botelho wrote and directed this Portuguese-French-Danish comedy with a theme of money and a cobweb of interrelated tales. Young Jesus (Joaquim Oliviera) is taken on a vacation by his parents (Rita Blanco, Adriano Luz) to a deserted beach resort. They accidentally fall into overnight wealth after Jesus digs in the sand, uncovering a large drug stash. Others characters intersecting here include an alcoholic actress, a philandering banker, a general trafficking in arms, priests who close their church and head north as hitchhikers, politicians who watch an all-girl production of Julius Caesar, and beggars who recite a children's story in a huge heap of trash. Shown in competition at the 1998 Venice Film Festival and the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joaquim Oliveira, Adriano Luz, (more)
- 1998
The 89-year-old Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira wrote and helmed this Portuguese-French-Spanish-Swiss co-production, an anthology film drama featuring three tales linked by the theme of death. In "The Immortals," adapted from a Helder Prista Monteiro play, two famous doctors, an 80-year-old father, and his 60-year-old son, contemplate senility and death. "Suzy," from an Antonio Patricio story, is set in the '30s when a young courtesan dies on the operating table. "Mother of the River" is from an Agustina Bessa-Luis fable about eternal life. Shown out of competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jose Pinto, Luis Miguel Cintra, (more)
