This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

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.

Emmy is #2 in my pantheon, thanks to Minnie Driver and her appearance in "the Phantom of the Opera". For me, Emmy is the best young actress but she is also the most underrated: Jessica got praises, smiles for magazines only and does stinker after stinker. Natalie wins awards. And Emmy is just empty-handed, albeit she is cool with everybody and has true talent! Here, she is only sixteen and she plays a wonderful witty daughter! If the movie is the classic (unsurprising) romance with the love/hate/love/hate stages, it has some original sparks as well: the Portuguese culture, a modest unknown town, and a solid cast that put on the spotlight people usually cast to guest-star! So it's rather enjoyable, and more when Emmy appears. And if you really want to have fun, look for the alternative ending which was indeed totally disastrous!

"Passionada" is a very light and enjoyable film. But the story has been done a million times over by Hollywood and on TV. It's the typical tale of a worldly, WASPy guy who meets and romances an ethnic, family-devoted girl. You just knew that there would be a clash of cultures and an eventual break-up. She would undoubtedly tempt her guy with ethnic food, dance and song, and even sensual sex. And he would tempt her with excitement, luxuries, and new adventures that only a man from outside her world could promise her. Sound familiar? Some people here complained about the lack of authenticity due to the director using non-Portuguese actors and Brazilian music. I don't think it made any difference. The acting and music and shots of the locale were very authentic and first-rate. The only thing that I couldn't figure out was all the casino scenes, since there are no casinos in New Bedford, Mass. The nearest ones are Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods in Conn., over an hour away. And Vicky, the young daughter, drove her scooter all the way over there and back on school nights? And if Charlie was such a professional card counter at Blackjack, banned from every casino, why was he broke? I must've missed something during a bathroom break. Other than that, "Passionada" is a fun film and a good insight into Portuguese-American culture, if that's your thing.

I do agree with the comments I have read. The film is a fine romantic pic, and when I wasn't thinking it pretended to be about Portuguese people who live in USA, I almost enjoyed it. I think films have a double role: to entertain and teach us something. What can people, who don't know Portugal or Portuguese people, learn with a film about "Portuguese", if people doesn't speak Portuguese, and even their names aren't common Portuguese names and surnames? It's a kind of arrogance and ignorance to make a film about Portuguese and be misinformed that much. Only in Hollywood, it's possible to make a film in which the only things really Portuguese are fado and sardines... Even the music at the popular party is a bad sample of Brazilian music. It's a shame!

You may be interested in this merely because Emmy Rossum is so appealing. She has one of those accidental faces that's somewhat over-sized featurewise. But like others (Kyra, Julia) she can light up the area with her smile. But she has more natural range and appeal than they do. And she's helped by another natural, Theresa Russell.But this story is a disaster. You can see how the writer worked: to the ordinary story of single mother seeking love from a pretender while daughter watches they add stuff. And what stuff: threads about gambling, fishing, cooking, singing and "Latin" love. But none of these threads go anywhere, none of them connect with each other or the main story. The result is a mess. The DVD has an original ending that is entirely apt in its discontinuity, and an accompanying commentary that expresses disgust over that same disconnectedness. Amazing.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.