Fernando Torres Movies

A supply boat sails to a lonely desert island with food and necessities for the lighthouse keeper and his daughter. The crewmen bring the goods to the tower and see before them a strange mystery -- steaming food on the table and a broken, bloody window. There is no trace of the keeper and his kin. Drawn from a novel by Brazilian author Moacir C. Lopes, this haunting, lyrical film chronicles the events leading up to this strange occurrence via the lost girl Marcela's diary. She was 13-years old and but for her domineering father, the island's sparse wildlife, the sea and the wind, she was alone. Having spent most of her life there, Marcela is used to it, but lately, as her body begins changing, she feels a strange yearning to be off the island and to be with other people. Once her father promised to take her to the mainland, but being a hermit, he broke that promise. Marcela was never the same after that. In her diary she writes of the mysterious Saulo who one day became her lover. That Saulo is the wind itself only adds to the mystery which concludes in a tense and gripping sequence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-cable docudrama, Anthony Hopkins stars as Joel Filartiga, a Paraguayan doctor battling against human rights abuses and political corruption in his native land. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

A Mulher Do Proximo is Portuguese for Your Neighbor's Wife. In this instance, the wife was the mistress of her handsome, aging neighbor. Both lovers die suddenly, in circumstances that reveal their long-standing affair to the whole world. Now the families of the two decedents must come to terms with their loved one's peccadilloes; even more difficult, those families have to figure out how they're going to get along with each other. Filmed in Portugal, A Mulher Do Proximo more closely resembles one of those hot-n-heavy Brazilian soap operas than a feature film, which doesn't hurt the picture one bit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An intense, well-scripted drama, this story of a young teen's psychological and emotional abuse at the hands of her immediate family was the first feature-length film for director and screenwriter Lui Farias, son of director Roberto Farias. Adapted from a semi-autobiographical novel by Eliane Maciel, Farias slowly builds a sense of oppression as Eliane (Fernanda Torres) finds her parents, aunt, grandmother, and even her boyfriend Otavio (Carlos Augusto Strazzer) have become increasingly overbearing and abusive toward her. For Eliane, there seems to be no way out. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Political prisoner Valentin Arregui (Raul Julia) and homosexual pederast Luis Molina (William Hurt) share a Brazilian prison cell in this fantastical drama from the book by Manuel Puig. Sensitive and flamboyant, Molina helps pass the time by recounting memories from one of his favorite films, a wartime romantic thriller that just may also be a Nazi propaganda film. He weaves the characters into an ongoing narrative meant to spur Valentin's imagination and distract him from the brutal realities of political imprisonment and separation from the woman he loves. Hard around the edges, and willing to die for his political principles, Valentin nonetheless allows Molina to penetrate some of his defensive shell. An odd friendship forms between the two vastly different prisoners, the dreamer and the activist. As the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear that Valentin is being poisoned by his captors, to compel him to reveal names and secrets, and that Molina may have other agendas that belie his honesty and openness with Valentin. The intense character study builds toward a surprising conclusion. Kiss of the Spider Woman received Oscar nominations for best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay, and Hurt took home the best actor trophy for his portrayal of the soulful and conflicted Molina. The film was later adapted into a Broadway musical. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide