It was then that you fell in love.

lastliberal-853-253708

Singularidades de uma Rapariga Loura is, to the best of my recollection, the first Portuguese film I have seen. It is based upon a work by one of Portugal's greatest writers, Eça de Queirós, who also wrote El crimen del padre Amaro, but that film was done in Mexico.

The film is relatively short, so things happen rapidly. Macário (Ricardo Trêpa) spots a girl (Catarina Wallenstein) in a window, and is smitten instantly. He knows nothing of Luísa, but wants to marry her. Was it the Chinese fan she was holding that stunned him? Uncle Francisco (Diogo Dória) was more level headed and refused to allow it, which sent poor Macário into the streets to earn enough to do it on his own. This is made more difficult by the fact that no one wants to hire him for fear of making his uncle angry. But, he finally finds an employer that immediately sends him to Cape Verde.

Things go well, turn bad, get better, and finally come crashing down.

Oppulent sets and formal mannerisms, as well as humor throughout, make for a very interesting film concerning the moral of not rushing into something before you have all the details.

score 8/10

lastliberal-853-253708 16 March 2011

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2399872/