Ricardo Trepa Movies

An amateur researcher embarks on a quest to officially establish Christopher Columbus' Portuguese roots, only to find his thirst for knowledge overpowering his initial mission in this historical drama from writer/director Manoel de Oliveira. The year was 1946, and America was the land of opportunity. Siblings Manuel and Herminio Da Salva (Ricardo and Jorge Trepa) immigrate to the United States to seek their fortune, Manuel quickly realizing his dream of becoming a doctor. Years later, after returning to his homeland of Portugal to marry lifetime love Sylvia (Leonor Baldaque), the ambitious physician becomes convinced that Columbus hailed not from Genoa, Italy, but the Portuguese town of Cuba instead. As Manuel and Sylvia set sail to prove his hypothesis once and for all, a once-singular mission quickly expands to encompass a vast sea of potential knowledge. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Adapted from author Agustina Bessa-Luis' novel The Soul of the Righ, writer/director Manoel de Oliveira's Magic Mirror travels deep into the restless psyche of a well-to-do woman who longs to experience a divine vision. Previously imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, Luciano (Ricardo Trepa) emerges into the real world in desperate need of a sense of direction. Luciano is haunted by the death of his sister Camila, though he does his best to stay distracted from family ghosts by going to work at the manor house of malcontent rich woman Alfreda (Leonor Silveira). Married to the much older Bahia (Duarte de Almeida), Alfreda has no children and spends much of her time discussing religious issues with eccentric Bible scholar Herschel (Michel Piccoli). When man-in-waiting Luciano fails to convince Alfreda that her fixation on the Virgin Mary is merely a delusion brought about by mental malaise, he subsequently hires local girl Filipe (Luis Miguel Cintra) to pose as the Madonna as part of an elaborate, but obscure, ruse. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Manoel de Oliveira's The Uncertainty Principle is based, like several other of the director's films, on the writing of Agustina Bessa-Luís. The film opens with a long shot of an old cathedral in the rain, as a young woman, Camila (Leonor Baldaque, the granddaughter of Bessa-Luís), surreptitiously enters, presumably to pray, then emerges a short while later. Then the conversation of two brothers, Daniel (Luis Miguel Cintra) and Torcato Roper (José Manuel Mendes), Camila's former tutors, is heard as they describe the central characters of the film. Antonio (Ivo Canelas) is from a wealthy family; he's also the childhood friend of Jose (Ricardo Trêpa, de Oliveira's grandson), the son of his family's maid, Celsa (Isabel Ruth). Jose, who is known as "the Blue Bull" and has been in love with Camila since childhood, is engaged in some kind of shady business practice with Vanessa (de Oliveira stalwart Leonor Silveira), who runs a brothel and a dance club. Thanks to Celsa's machinations, Antonio proposes to Camila, whose family has fallen on hard times. The calculating Camila marries Antonio, who makes little effort to hide his affair with Vanessa. The Uncertainty Principle was shown in competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. It was also selected for the 2002 New York Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Portuguese filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira examines the life of 17th century priest and activist Father Antonio Vieira in this biographical drama based on Vieira's own writings. As the film opens, Vieira (Ricardo Trepa) is a missionary working in Brazil who, in addition to spreading the word about Christianity, is passionately devoted to eliminating slavery and bettering the lives of blacks and indigenous peoples. Hoping to spread the word about his work, Vieira sails to Portugal, nearly losing his life when his ship sinks at sea. In Portugal, Vieira becomes so well respected for his work that he is named the confessor of the royal family, and gains the support of King Joao IV for his crusade. Years later, Vieira (now played by Luis Miguel Cintra) has continued to speak out in favor of progressive causes, his sermons attracting the attention of Queen Christina of Sweden (Leonor Silveira), who persuades Vieira to become her confessor. However, his controversial views raise the ire of Portuguese fundamentalists, putting the priest in great danger. In the film's final act, the elderly Vieira (Lima Duarte), despite poor health and failing eyesight, continues to fight for the causes he believes in as he struggles to complete a final literary work, "The History of The Future." Palavra E Utopia received its North American premiere at the 2000 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide