João Lagarto

The Fortunate Ones (2024)

Algarve, late 90s. Following the death of her grandmother, Milene - a strong young woman full of life despite a slight mental handicap - divides her life between her family of notables and a Cape Verdean family that keeps her going, whom she met when her g ...

Três Crimes, Três Curtas (2023)

S.Ó.S.", by Bruno Soares, "Céu Aberto ou Espaço Limitado", by José António Loureiro, and "Para Cá do Marão", by José Mazeda, are three short films, all first works by their directors , shown as if they were a single film. What they have in common i ...

Há-de Haver Uma Lei (2023)

The story of Luizinha, a girl born into a very poor family who is given by her father to António, the richest man in town, to raise her. But the death of his wife leads António to marry Berta for the second time, and it soon becomes clear that the large ...

Applause (2023)

A message of praise to the President concludes a Party assembly, sparking apotheotic applause. In the middle of the crowd inquisitive eyes of the State Police look for the slightest sign of dissent, and the ovation does not cease. ...

The Home Fairy (2022)

Vera, a single mother with two small children, is forced to have two jobs to survive after her children's father has disappeared. She works as a cashier at a supermarket by day and at night works in a strip club, trying not only to raise her children but a ...

Pedro, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (2022)

The story of Brazil's first emperor, returning to Europe on board the English ship Warspite. The trip makes Pedro conquer his fears and face his life from a personal point of view. He goes back in time and relives outstanding moments of his earlier life � ...

Egas’ Ego (2020)

Egas Moniz, a man marked by perseverance and ambition. Audacious and in dissonance with a country full of "narrow-minded" people, Egas Moniz faced everyone so as to impose his scientific ideas, for which he was awarded, at a quite advanced stage of his lif ...

Before the Mountains (2020)

A theft of water, a homicide, a question of honour, a tragedy in the village of Gralhas, Montalegre. ...

The Art of Dying Far Away (2020)

Can a turtle, the most pacific animal on earth, start a range of significant events that are going to forever change a couple's life? After dividing all their assets, Arnaldo e Barbara still have one decision to make before they formalize their separation: ...

Mosquito (2020)

Dreaming of great adventures and of standing up for his homeland, a young Portuguese man enlists in the army during World War I and is sent to the front line in Mozambique, Africa. Left behind by his platoon, he sets out on a grueling trek across the mysti ...

Bruno Aleixo's Film (2020)

Bruno Aleixo was invited to write a biopic about his own life. Lacking ideas, he decided to ask his closest friends for inspiration. Reunited in a cafe, each of his friends suggests a different idea, more or less biographical. ...

Último Acto (2019)

Our Consul in Havana (2019)

The film is liberally inspired by the period when Eça de Queiroz was Portuguese Consul in Cuba, when still a Spanish colony. Eça de Queiroz struggles against local authorities in his defense of Chinese workers, brought to the sugar plantations by greedy ...

522. A Cat, a Chinese Guy and My Father (2019)

George, an agoraphobic young woman, cannot go more than 522 steps away from her home. One day, a personal tragedy forces her to embark on a journey from Spain to her native Portugal. ...

Forbidden Images (2019)

David envisions an unusual project, he tries to recreate the love between two women that can only meet through the Polaroid pictures he takes of them. ...

Portugal Não Está à Venda (2019)

The hypochondriac Sebastião and his not so normal family must save the country from the prime minister's plan of selling the country to China, Germany, France and Angola, and show that Portugal is not for sale. ...

The Dead Queen (2018)

Inspired on the true events of the Portuguese king Don Pedro (14th Century) which unburied his mistress to make her queen after dead. This film tells the story of Pedro, a man admitted to a psychiatric hospital for traveling by car with the corpse of his b ...

Apparition (2018)

A writer becomes the main character in the story he intended to write ...

O Segredo das Pedras Vivas (2016)

In an isolated village of the Alentejo region, a conflict arises. José Vitorino, one of the landowners of the region, rich in prehistoric monuments, wants to build a luxurious solarium in lands filled with ancient rocks, places of devotion and sacred ritu ...

Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe (2016)

Before Dawn charts the years of exile in the life of famous Jewish Austrian writer Stefan Zweig, his inner struggle for the "right attitude" towards the events in war torn Europe and his search for a new home. ...

Benedict Ironbreaker: The Red Taxis (2014)

At first sight, 10-year-old Benoît Brisefer, seems like any other little boy his age. However, Benoît is endowed with amazing force. All the bandits who cross his path learn this to their own cost. But, unfortunately, no one is perfect... As soon as he c ...

Encontradouro (2014)

Four people meet during a train trip up the Douro Valley. ...

Bairro (2013)

Diana was born and raised in the neighborhood of Estrela Polar, lost hers parents when she was a child and leads a band of criminals who negotiates for drugs, money laundering, weapons, paintings, jewellery and tobacco. ...

Night Train to Lisbon (2013)

Raimund Gregorius, having saved a beautiful Portuguese woman from leaping to her death, stumbles upon a mesmerizing book by a Portuguese author, which compels him to suddenly abandon the boring life he has led for years and to embark on an enthralling adve ...

The Great Kilapy (2012)

Zézé Gamboa's sardonic historical drama follows a good-hearted, apolitical con man who, on the eve of Angolan independence in the mid-1970s, pulls off a massive swindle at the expense of the Portuguese colonial administration — and soon after finds him ...

O Último Verão (2012)

To celebrate the end of another college year, three friends decide to have an adventurous night of summer. But things don't go according to plan. ...

A mãe do meu filho (2012)

A courtroom. A divorce. A drama told in flashback. In a courtroom story, the viewer will witness the divorce of Clemente and Emília, in which the division of property and custody of a child are discussed. But something strange slowly begins to emerge in t ...

Imagine (2012)

A blind teacher breaks the rules to help a female student rediscover the pleasures of life. ...

Até que a vida nos separe (2012)

"Until life separates us" tells the story of Raquel, a 42-year-old woman who engages Henry, an 18-year-old boy who is the son of her husband's boss. The relationship between Raquel and Henrique lasts only three days, but the aftermath of this involvement w ...

My Name Is Bernadette (2011)

Between February and July 1858, in the Massabielle cave, the Virgin appeared eighteen times to Bernadette Soubirous, a miserable little girl from Lourdes. A true revolution in the heart of the Second Empire that shakes the established order by his universa ...

4 Hearts (2009)

Diana is a young woman about to enter adulthood. She lives with her father, Gabriel, a game machine dealer, and Magdalene, the stepmother, alongside those working in a hair salon in a shopping center. One day, Diana discovers that Magdalene not only keeps ...

O Último Condenado à Morte (2009)

The story about the last man to be sentenced to death in Portugal. ...

A Ilha dos Escravos (2008)

After a violent civil war, D. Miguel, the last Portuguese absolutist king, is defeated by the liberals, led by his brother D. Pedro. In 1834 D. Miguel left for exile. His supporters don't give up on returning him to the throne. Willing to do anything they ...

Corruption (2007)

A crime drama based on the life of a woman who lived for years with a man that was the head of a corruption network in the Portuguese football world. ...

The Mystery of Sintra (2007)

Summer of 1870. Two writers, Eça de Queiroz and Ramalho Ortigão, decide to write a four-handed whodunit for the daily "Diário de Notícias". Could it be that the story they wrote as fiction is based on a real case? This question fuels the conflict betwe ...

The Crime of Father Amaro (2005)

A young priest commits a crime when he falls in love with a beautiful and troubled woman. Based on O Crime do Padre Amaro ("The Crime of Father Amaro"), a novel by the 19th-century Portuguese writer José Maria de Eça de Queiroz. It was first published in ...

A Shot in the Dark (2005)

A baby is kidnapped in a Brazilian airport. Years later, the mother lives in Lisbon and works in a strip-tease bar so she can survive. When she is fired, she joins a gang of bank robbers... ...

Kiss Me (2004)

This movie bring us a story about a woman named Laura (Marisa Cruz) that lives in a small portuguese town during the 50's. Tired of living in such a small town she travells to a bigger town, in which she'll have the opportunity to feel free. ...

Ordo (2004)

Ordo Tupikos, a french sailor with greek origins, discover that his first wife, Estelle, with whom he had remained married a few months only 16 years earlier, is now a famous movie star called Louise Sandoli. But, more than her name, everything about Louis ...

The Murmuring Coast (2004)

During the war of in-dependency Evita moves from Lisbon to Mozambique to marry Luís. She slowly discovers how different and disturbing life is in a country of war and when her husband is send on a military mission she starts to fight loneliness. Over time ...

Tudo Isto é Fado (2004)

Shup up in dead-end lives with dreams larger than life, two inseparable friends in their thirties decide to take their fates in hand. Nevertheless, a woman a « fatale » one, gets them away from their path. And the three of them – two others will quickl ...

A Falha (2002)

Twenty-five years after leaving school, a group of former students decide to organise a reunion. But, contrary to expectations, these "old boys" realise that time has accentuated their differences. The atmosphere is tense, the conversation taut and the old ...

Anjo Caído (2001)

A boy lives with his mother and younger sister. One day, his mother disappears with her lover, leaving the two children alone. António, the older brother, takes care of his sister, Maria da Luz. The little girl is about 10 months old. When she starts walk ...

Teorema de Pitágoras (2001)

João, a young man which uses to have much success with women but doesn't treat them as he should. They are like a toy to him, till the day he meets Ana. ...

Querida Mãe (2001)

The elder matriarch of a dysfunctional family is mistankenly declared dead. ...

Cavaleiros De Água Doce (2001)

After the passing of one of his friends, João remember's the summer he had with his friends when he was 12 years old. ...

Lourdes (2000)

The young, sickly girl Bernadette comes from a poverty-stricken family. When the Virgin Mary appears to her in a cavern near Lourdes, no one takes the girl seriously, even when she digs up a wellspring at the Virgin's instructions The local authorities eve ...

April Captains (2000)

Story of the 1974 coup that overthrew the right-wing Portuguese dictatorship--which continued the fascist policies of long-time dictator Antonio Salazar--and of two young army captains who were involved in it. ...

Monsanto (2000)

Rui Sequeira, a former fighter in the Colonial War, resident of a small village of Alentejo, celebrates another anniversary of the Carnation Revolution in the company of his wife and her daughter, the young Sara, with which he has a not so good relationshi ...

Fuga (1999)

Set during the Estado Novo dictatorship, in the night of April 24, Pedro hears that the political police, PIDE, assaulted his house. Fearing of what his fate may be, Pedro runs, looking for a place to hide. ...

Tentação (1997)

Father António is a priest by vocation, committed and generous, dear people of Vila Daires a quiet village of the north. But Father António is also a man, and Vila Daires is not as peaceful as it seems. The good intentions of the Father will not be suffi ...

Land of Storms (1997)

Lena disappears mysteriously during the winter of 1976. This is the last stop on a journey that begins in colonial Mozambique on new year's eve at 1957 gives way to 1958. Ningo, a black boy brought up by Lena's parents, and her childhood friend, comes to L ...

The Garden of Redemption (1997)

A priest struggles with his religious beliefs as he sees his countrymen murdered in Nazi occupied Italy and as he becomes attracted to a woman operating in the resistance. ...

Goodbye, Father (1996)

For a 13-year-old boy like Filipe, the prospect of a summer vacation in the Azores with his father is like a dream come true. But dreams are sometimes just a way to avoid facing reality. ...

Dying to Go Home (1996)

A Portuguese imigrant in Holland dies in an accident and is buried in Amsterdam. But his soul will not rest in peace until his body is carried back to Portugal. ...

Foreign Land (1996)

During a time of political upheaval in Brazil, two strangers meet by coincidence in a foreign land and end up caught in the middle of a gem smuggling ring. ...

Saramago: Documentos (1996)

About the Portuguese author José Saramago, based on a long interview with the writer at his home on the island of Lanzarote, in which he analyzes his work and shares his reflection on some aspects of his personal life. ...

Two Dragons (1996)

Dois Dragões follows a small dog on an adventure in a Chinese restaurant, where its owner (Ana Zanatti) goes to have dinner with her daughter (Beatriz Batarda). Terrorised by the possibility of being turned into Chop Suey, the dog passes a frightening nig ...

Kiss and Cry (1995)

Neglected by his parents, a portly teenager finds refuge with a gang of young thugs in Lisbon. ...

Sinais de Fogo (1995)

The film presents us with a reflection on the Spanish Civil War in the Portuguese society, At a time when Salazar ruled. ...

La rage au cœur (1995)

Jeanne, her second husband, Michel, and her teen daughter Marie live quietly in the South of France. However, Jeanne's secret past comes back to haunt her. ...

Daisy and Mona (1994)

The difficult reunion between a tough young mother and her neglected daughter provide impetus this gritty, but upbeat French drama. Daisy, a typical young woman of the X-generation, seems to have no ambition in her life; she lives for the moment and the mo ...

D'Artagnan's Daughter (1994)

It is 1654, in the South of France. When horsemen follow a runaway slave into the convent where he's taken sanctuary and kill both the fugitive and the Mother Superior, they little realise that one of the novices is the spirited daughter of retired muskete ...

Pax (1994)

Franny (Amanda Plummer), an absent-minded American girl, is in Lisbon to deliver an important package. Unfortunately she has lost the address and only knows that the recipient's name is João. When she meets an old prostitute, Esmeralda, the two join force ...

One Foot in the Grave: One Foot in the Algarve (1993)

The Meldrews go on holiday to Portugal with Mrs Warboys, who is hoping for romance with her penpal Alfonso. Photographer Martin Trout follows them there, believing they have a roll of film that belongs to him. ...

L'homme au double visage (1993)

At gunpoint, a plastic surgeon must operate on a criminal to escape the police. But when the criminal returns for treatment, the doctor plans to take revenge on his unfaithful wife. ...

The End of the World (1993)

In the quietness of rural life, small disputes about the right to use a rivulet may take the proportion of a life-and-death matter.. ...

Havanera 1820 (1993)

The year is 1820, and trade between Cuba and Catalonia is a booming business, although the goods that arrive to Cuba are not always the products that were shipped, in some cases, they simply arrive "lumps" or "coal". As it appears in the logbooks of the sh ...

Amor e Dedinhos de Pé (1993)

Macau 1897. Life is easy for Portuguese settlers. Young reveler Francisco Frontaria is deemed as irresponsible for all his partying and boozing. Shunned and exiled for crossing a line by insulting the daughter of a prominent family, he finds himself pennil ...

No Dia dos Meus Anos (1992)

This Portuguese movie directed by João Botelho, is part of The Four Elements series. This is the second episode, The Air. ...

Jaz Morto e Arrefece (1989)

Are the Portuguese afraid of the changes after the Estado Novo dictatorship? ...

The Jester (1987)

Set four years after the Portuguese revolution and the simultaneous loss of the Portuguese empire in Africa, the story concerns a director who sells guns to finance his play. ...

Era Uma Vez Um Alferes (1987)

Colonial war in Africa. During a patrol, in the woods, a Portuguese soldier steps on a mine, that will explode when he raises his foot... ...

A Borboleta na Gaiola (1987)

"The Butterfly in the Cage" is a novel by Luís Filipe Costa adapted to film by the author, it follows the daily lives of several people connected to newspapers, television, film and theater in Lisbon, in the days leading up to the revolution of 25 April 1 ...

Morte D'Homem (1985)

Entangled in crime since childhood, Zeca Mouro experienced probation, reform school, and jail through expediency and marginality. His life is thus defined by crime and atonement. ...

L'Herbe rouge (1985)

Based on the eponymous novel by Boris Vian. With the help of a time machine, a man explores his past, apparently with the aim of curing his present misfortune... ...

Um S Marginal (1983)

In the near future, along the Portuguese coast, a network of ocean and solar power transformers will be installed. With the ecological balance seriously threatened, domestic animals disappear from the cities and return to wildlife in upland areas. On heari ...

A Estranha Morte do Professor Antena (1983)

The film is inspired by the Mário de Sá-Carneiro short story, where the narration is made by Professor Antena's assistant who walks by his side when he is run over in a perhaps enigmatic way. ...

Jogo de Mão (1983)

In a unique approach to what amounts to four pseudo-morality plays, director Monique Rutler has a street entertainer with hand puppets summarize the characters and idea of each story. The first sketch is about a young man who shines shoes for a living, and ...

Life Is Beautiful (1982)

Hipólito is a self-made man, who went up in life in devious ways, and used for profit the social turmoil when Portugal changed from a monarchy into a republic, and then to a military regime. Finally, he is forced into exile. Back in 1935 to family, friend ...

Histórias Selvagens (1978)

An adaptation of two short stories by Passos Coelho, essentially shot in a valley that is a territory threatened by floods, the film is a cinematographic chronicle of the rural worker in the area of Montemor-o-Velho. ...