Manuel Guimarães
2021Nasci com a Trovoada: Autobiografia póstuma de um cineasta
Leonor Areal
Manuel Guimarães, António da Cunha Telles
The autobiographical texts and letters by film director Manuel Guimarães, and exchanged by him with friends, are the axis for the intimate narrative of his life, social concerns, passion for movies - while revisiting many movies of the 20th century and his complete filmography. One segment documents the epic way directors attempted to bypass official censorship to show their movies out of the country.
Born with a Thunderstorm
The Crime of Aldeia Velha
Manuel Guimarães
Barbara Laage, Rui Gomes
Set in a little remote village, where everyone is very religious and primitive, it tells the story of Joana, the most beautiful girl in village. She is badly regarded by all other women because they envy her and her affairs with men. As soon as accidents start happening involving her (at some point, she holds an already sick baby and he eventually dies), the women (and slowly, men too) in the village start claiming that she is possessed by the devil. At first,she doesn't believe it. They ask for two priests to exorcise her, but they leave and say to the people that she isn't possessed at all, and that people need to relax. But, little by little, they start convincing Joana that she is really possessed and she starts entering a stage of slight madness and behaving like she is. So, people "believing" that she isn't going to die, and that the demon will leave her body, with her permission, they end up burning her alive...
The Crime of Aldeia Velha
O Trigo e o Joio
Manuel Guimarães
Eunice Muñoz, Igrejas Caeiro
A sad and strong people living in the huge plains of Alentejo. Their endless struggle for bread, their nostalgic, bewitching songs and their daily toil to turn a dry, barren land into golden wheat fields.
The Wheat and the Tares
Vidas sem Rumo
Manuel Guimarães
Milú, Eugénio Salvador
Meia-Lua used to be a sailor, but he now makes a poor living smuggling. He is a cynical man, who doesn't care for Ana or for the child they had together. He lives with the beautiful Marlene who dances in the bars. Gull spends her whole days lulling a doll in her arms, and she waits for her love that will rise from the depths of the sea. The deaf musician Sparrow watches over her, in his despaired love and long-held wish of becoming a sea captain. There is a dispute down the piers, there is a crime that might be just an accident, there is a bad conscience that turns sour, there is a boat full of poor wretches like a rocking lullaby, a baby that passes from arms to arms, a clumsy beggar that finds some work, a courthouse of tramps... From this expressionist account that has unexpected comical moments, the censors from Salazar's regime cut away 20 minutes that were never to be found again.
Vidas sem Rumo
Saltimbancos
Manuel Guimarães
Maria Olguim, Helga Liné
Tony, a trapeze artist, gets a job at a small circus. When a tempest takes away the tent, Tony stays for the love of the beautiful Belmira who could be a rider… if they hadn’t sold the horse. They play at open-air, sleep under the stars, scrimp and save every penny, and soon there’s a new tent to be bought on credit. But Belmira is not happy, she dreams of a real home, while Tony is fascinated by the circus. And the gloomy days are back.
The Circus
Nazaré
Manuel Guimarães
Virgílio Teixeira, Helga Liné
The sea, often treacherous, is the only source of living of the people of Nazaré. The film tells the story of António and his family, where no dreams are allowed. There is also the mourning of the woman in black wailing silently on the beach or waiting for their children lost in the sea.
Nazaré
A Costureirinha da Sé
Manuel Guimarães
Maria de Fátima Bravo, Jacinto Ramos
Aurora is a modest young girl, working as dressmaker for the women her popular district, near the OPorto cathedral. One day, through a hintz-dress design competition, she gets involved with a haut couture atelier.
My Little Seamstress