A Talking Picture
by Manoel de Oliveira
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Catherine Deneuve, Filipa de Almeida, John Malkovich, Leonor Silveira, Stefania SandrelliDirector: Manoel de Oliveira
Brand: Kino International
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); Greek (Original Language); Italian (Original Language); Portuguese (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 96 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-04-05
Audience Rating: Unrated
Model: 3982
Studio: Kino Video
Product features:
- TALKING PICTURE, A UN FILME FALADO (DVD MOVIE)
Movie Reviews of A Talking Picture
Movie Review: A Feast for the Eye and the Mind
Summary: 5 Stars
Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira at age 96 concocted this strange little film that suggests and artist/philosopher glance over his shoulder about all of civilization and the development of culture and language and then a rather ominous look toward the future. Part travelogue and part captured conversations this film may not be for the movie going public as much as for those who yearn to expand their cultural horizons. It may wander around and lose focus, but it is such an elegant little journey that it bears watching repeatedly.
The time is July 2001. Rosa Maria (Leonor Silveira) is a history professor in Lisbon and takes her young daughter Maria Joana (Felipe de Almeida) on a Mediterranean cruise to Bombay, India where the two will meet up with her husband. They board a cruise ship and for the first hour of the film mother gives daughter a verbal history of teh ports of call. The ship stops at Marseilles (where the first strange famous lady - Catherine Deneuve - boards) and after a walk through the streets of the port, dining on bouillabaise and learning about the Greek origins of the port as an introduction to the world of Greek civilization, the two return to ship. The next stop is Naples (second strange lady - Stefania Sandrelli - boards) and the two wander Naples and journey to Pompeii to see the ancient ruins, mixing information of history and myth, the warmly rich instruction from the mother shares. Then at Athens (third strange lady - Irene Pappas - boards) and the two visit the Parthenon and the Acropolis aided by the friendly information by a Greek Orthodox priest (Nikos Hatzopoulos) who illuminates the sites as well as the differences between Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic religions and symbols. The ship's next stop is Egypt where the two view the pyramids and chat with a fellow Portuguese actor (Luís Miguel Cintra). The final stops include Istanbul, where the cross between Muslim and Christian faith is explained using the great mosque as example, and Tangiers where the two shop and ship's Captain Walesa (John Malkovich) secretly buys a doll for Maria Joana.
Finally back aboard ship Captain Walesa invites the three famous women to his table and there is an extended conversation among the four, each speaking her/his native tongue. This plays like a string quartet as the various melodies are in French, Italian, Greek and English, and the conversation surveys languages, the various cultures, and the joys of communication even in this 'Tower of Babel' setting. The Captain invites Rosa Maria and Maria Joana to this illustrious table the next evening and the Captain asks Irene Pappas to sing. During the song the Captain mysteriously leaves the table only to return with the quiet news that while in the last port terrorists placed time bombs on the ship and asks the passengers to prepare to evacuate the ship. The climax of the movie is jolting and to reveal the ending would destroy the joy of the story.
At first this beautifully photographed film (cinematographer Emmanuel Machuel) appears to be just exactly 'A Talking Picture' with all of the history and travelogue atmosphere. It is with the gradual introduction of the 'three Norns' and the American Captain's involvement that the message becomes more poignant and philosophical. Setting this story in the summer months exactly before the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in New York provides the chilling poignancy that makes this film not the simple tale it first appears. It serves as a shocking reminder how no matter how rich the history of our 'civilization' may be, it is fragile and tenuous in times such as these when random acts can destroy so much we hold precious. In Portuguese, French, Greek, Italian, and English with subtitles. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, May 05
Summary of A Talking Picture
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