Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

People are always different from each other. I may think that a movie is good, others will think it is bad. There is no such thing as a good movie, because it will always be someone that doesn't like it.About this particularly film, I have something to say: Don't see it! Portuguese films are always about stupid things, stupid dialogs and with a really depressed story. But, if you want you can see it. Some of you may enjoy it, because as I said, there are people who like it, that only shows that person's personality; by a unique comment to a film I can find many things about people. For example, if you like a Portuguese movie I can tell you that you are stupid. But, if you have seen this movie and other Portuguese movies and you think this is different, please tell me, I want to discover a good Portuguese movie.And by the way, I'm Portuguese and I'm saying this, so believe me!Enjoy other movies, there are lots of good ones out there.

A movie that really speaks for our generation. The director's attention to detail was unparalleled in all the movies that I have ever seen in my entire life. My ENTIRE life! The performances were stellar and moved me to tears. The artistic cinematography had me glued to my seat and the tight plot is reason enough to watch this eye-popping spectacle. This movie transcends genres in every possible way. I just could not get enough of the movie. I'm watching out for the sequel and will donate half my life's savings to the production of the director's next venture - as long as the little girl is cast in it. I'm sorry I would like to write more coherently and longer but my emotional body is still quivering from the impact of this fantastic movie - a jarring metaphor of what has become of our history, effortlessly gliding with unstoppable eloquence. Please excuse me while i go watch this AGAIN! Please please please go and watch this masterpiece and make your life complete. Oliviera has done the human race proud!

This movie had elements I really liked but it looked like three different films thrown together. I really wish the writer and director had focused on one of them instead of making, what seemed like, three different movies.The first portion is like a travelogue where a nice Portuguese history teacher takes her cute young daughter to see the sites in Egypt, Athens, and other ancient locales. This wasn't especially exciting, but the acting and style of these visits made them oddly compelling and sweet.Then, abruptly, the scene switches to a table across from the mother and daughter on the ship. At the table are three famous and successful European women and the captain, John Malkovich. All speak their respective languages (Greek, Italian, English and French) but seem to understand each other. Their conversations, to me, seem rather philosophical and lack any real depth--as the characters talk about grand ideas but give little information about themselves. It reminded me a lot of the sort of conversations you might have heard in the French salons of the mid 18th century--interesting but after a while rather bland.The third movie VERY VERY abruptly begins after the Portuguese lady and her daughter join the others at the captain's table. Within minutes, the boat is blown up by terrorists. All, but possibly the Portuguese lady and her kid, survive--what an abrupt and unnecessary downer! Overall, the acting is pretty good (though Malkovich doesn't seem at all like a real ship's captain) and the story has excellent PIECES--but the whole just isn't much fun to watch. I do understand that the film deliberately juxtaposes the mother/child and ancient civilizations (symbolizing the heights of civilization)with the Nihilistic terrorist attack. I understand, but don't particularly like this contrast.

This is another Great film of 97year old Portuguese director Manoel De Oliveira (a legend!). It's incredible how this director still creative is... His stories are simple and deep. He demonstrates that with a low budget you can always do strong films, with good lines.A mother takes her daughter to a cruise trip through Mediterranean Sea. She teaches her story and gets in touch with three European women and the ship's captain. Everyone speaks his own language... That's why it's a "Talking picture", a meeting among people of several cultures. The dialogue follow the everyday life. The film seems to be very calm and seems to tell simply a friendship story, until the final scene... Where we remain totally surprised.A small, cultivated and poetic picture, from an European big director.