The thrust of this story is so odd as to stretch credibility almost to the point of crumbling, but Rodrigues just about managed to keep me on board, with a clear, almost ritual, exposition of the two characters' stories, before they start to entwine in a bizarre cocktail of obsession and distress. The overall feel is that of Greek tragedy, an excruciating inevitability that helps to accept, unlikely as it may seem, the final scene where the male lead is sodomised by the female, while the ghost of his now-dead boyfriend looks on (I kid you not).
A brief outline of the plot will give you an idea of just how strange this film is: Rui and Pedro have been in love for a year - they've just exchanged rings and the future is full of plans, but then Pedro is killed in a car crash. In another part of Lisbon, Odete works in the local supermarket and is going out with Alberto, one of the security guards. She starts to get broody to the point of obsession and, when Alberto refuses to have a child with her, she throws him out. Up to now, were still in a normal film, but Odete gatecrashes Pedro's funeral and the weirdness begins. She steals Pedro's ring (by sucking it off his finger, in a scene not devoid of necrophiliac undertones - at this point any doubts about her instability are completely dispelled), claims she's carrying Pedro's child and begins to insinuate herself into Rui's life by implying an almost supernatural connection with Pedro. When the pregnancy turns out to be phantom - or faked, we're never really sure and in any case, no-one in the film really takes it seriously - she persues her obsession by subsuming Pedro's personality and manipulating Rui into an acceptance of her as a substitute for his dead lover.
While the film may appear some kind of freudian horror story, the core remains very human: Odete is as lost as Rui and never really convincing as the reincarnation of Pedro. Her gauche efforts in this respect tend to alleviate the creeping sense of evil that permeates her manipulation of Rui, who can only accept such a sham because of his overriding need to sublimate Pedro's death.
Rodrigues leaves much open to interpretation: just how conscious is Odete of what she is doing to Rui? just how far is Rui taken in by her? His refusal to comment leads me to think he's suggesting it doesn't really matter: here we have two people taking the same road to meet two different needs, which can be said of a great many love stories.
The film is sound enough in its technical aspects (acting, photography, etc.) to carry the story, so I'd recommend a look if you get the chance.
A brief outline of the plot will give you an idea of just how strange this film is: Rui and Pedro have been in love for a year - they've just exchanged rings and the future is full of plans, but then Pedro is killed in a car crash. In another part of Lisbon, Odete works in the local supermarket and is going out with Alberto, one of the security guards. She starts to get broody to the point of obsession and, when Alberto refuses to have a child with her, she throws him out. Up to now, were still in a normal film, but Odete gatecrashes Pedro's funeral and the weirdness begins. She steals Pedro's ring (by sucking it off his finger, in a scene not devoid of necrophiliac undertones - at this point any doubts about her instability are completely dispelled), claims she's carrying Pedro's child and begins to insinuate herself into Rui's life by implying an almost supernatural connection with Pedro. When the pregnancy turns out to be phantom - or faked, we're never really sure and in any case, no-one in the film really takes it seriously - she persues her obsession by subsuming Pedro's personality and manipulating Rui into an acceptance of her as a substitute for his dead lover.
While the film may appear some kind of freudian horror story, the core remains very human: Odete is as lost as Rui and never really convincing as the reincarnation of Pedro. Her gauche efforts in this respect tend to alleviate the creeping sense of evil that permeates her manipulation of Rui, who can only accept such a sham because of his overriding need to sublimate Pedro's death.
Rodrigues leaves much open to interpretation: just how conscious is Odete of what she is doing to Rui? just how far is Rui taken in by her? His refusal to comment leads me to think he's suggesting it doesn't really matter: here we have two people taking the same road to meet two different needs, which can be said of a great many love stories.
The film is sound enough in its technical aspects (acting, photography, etc.) to carry the story, so I'd recommend a look if you get the chance.