It is the debut of actress Maria de Medeiros and portrays the cry for freedom of Portugal.
It was perhaps one of the best moments of contemporary history and deserves an epic, nay, more than one, different visions, different filmmakers views of one moment that changed the life of the Portuguese people forever. It is curious that after this long film written and directed by Maria de Medeiros no one else dared to approach the April revolution. I proceed, however, with a theory on this matter. We lack a certain emotional distance from this striking chapter of national history, at least half a century, since one must not forget that when the first "captains of April" came out there was a strong wave of criticism and a certain coldness of the general public. One would expect people to hurry to the cinema to see the portrait of a time that although it was not literal, was remarkable. Wrong. The Portuguese do not like catharsis. Goes against their own nature, although it was a moment of freedom and collective joy, the truth is that the Portuguese felt over time somehow defrauded, the gains were temporary and April' revolution has a certain taste of disappointment and we have a certain shame to admit it. On the other hand, potentially the whole buzz around this film may have discouraged future film projects. Addressing the feature film itself, I must say I enjoyed the exteriors footage of the city of Lisbon, shows the true face of the revolution, the streets crowded with carnations. The work of the actors is another added value of this semi-biography, in particular the composition of Stefano Accorsi, as the hero of the revolution, Salgueiro Maia. What it cannot overcome it's the poor dubbing and sound. Not allowed. The script though, is interesting is deficient and that could explain the excessive prolongation of certain scenes, which is also the result of the inexperience of the director. But then again, it is not bad for a first approach. Good movie.
