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A Talking Picture

A Talking Picture

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Status

Released

Release Date

Aug 31, 2003

Runtime

1h 36m

Genres

Drama, History

User Score

71%

Original Title

Um Filme Falado

Production Companies

France 2 Cinéma, Gemini Films, Madragoa Filmes, Mikado Film

Director

Manoel de Oliveira

Revenue

$20,312

Description

A meditation on civilization. July, 2001: friends wave as a cruise ship departs Lisbon for Mediterranean ports and the Indian Ocean. On board and on day trips in Marseilles, Pompeii, Athens, Istanbul, and Cairo, a professor tells her young daughter about myth, history, religion, and wars. Men approach her; she's cool, on her way to her husband in Bombay. After Cairo, for two evenings divided by a stop in Aden, the captain charms three successful, famous (and childless) women, who talk with wit and intellect, each understanding the others' native tongue, a European union. The captain asks mother and child to join them. He gives the girl a gift. Helena sings. Life can be sweet.