Female Film Critics 24/375
Portuguese director Paulo Rocha’s Change of Life, shows a refined, mature visual sensibility though the story meanders, fixated on an ill-fated romance. Passion is reignited when Adelino returns to the remote fishing village Furadouro after four years absence fighting in the Angolan war. He finds his love Júlia married his brother Raimundo in his absence.
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A bonus of enjoying restorations is discovering previously unfamiliar directors and their work. That’s the case with Portuguese director Paulo Rocha whose 1963 The Green Years didn’t receive a U.S. release. Now available, Rocha’s debut film takes its place among new wave gems shot on location, in beautiful black and white, following its protagonist through coming-of-age romantic experiences.
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A mesmerizing, profoundly moving film, Vitalina Varela unfolds in slow motion over two hours, but what a two hours. While Hollywood feeds us everything we need to know in quick bursts of easily digested information, Portuguese director Pedro Costa understates and refrains from explicit excess. Instead he invites the viewer to enter and thoughtfully consider, the painful world he depicts.
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