This is one of the greatest successes of the Portuguese television of recent times. A series that describes a Portugal oppressed by the dictatorship of Salazar.
It is without a doubt my favorite television series. And I will of course say why. It describes an era, a country completely unknown, a Portugal under the auspices of a dictatorship, through the eyes of a child. I am from a generation that knew not, fortunately, any kind of political oppression, have always lived in democracies and saw with real curiosity a country completely unknown to me. The Lopez family is the prototype of any household or remedied as they call themselves and well, middle-class Portuguese in the late '60s. And we are the privileged vouyers of a time dominated by fear.This fiction series is of superior quality, although it is a television content adapted from an spanish original , there was no, fortunately a copy paste. Rather, "tells me how it was" have their own dynamics, with a consistent argument, a carefully scenario, the result of extensive research on the era.
The work of actors is another of its strengths. I must say that the entire cast and wonderful. The work of characterization of Rita Blanco, the family matriarch Lopes, is a portent. It is the genesis of Portuguese mothers, modest, very chicken mum, tender and at the same time fighter. Miguel Guilherme, father Lopes, no words need it, I know the work of this actor, on stage, in film and television, and there is something he simply can not do is do it badly. The grandmother, portrayed by the excellent actress, Catarina Avelar, is simply wonderful. As for Rita Blutt Fernando Pires, respectively Elizabeth and Toni, their television debuts could not have been more auspicious. Gamito Luis, Carlos and narrator in adulthood of this history, is the jewel in the crown of a magnificent group of actors. And the adjectives are few, believe me. The supporting cast are also not far behind, are actors of great quality.
Another of the highlights of this program of fiction is how the dynamics of the Lopes family accompanies the historical evolution of our country, its social upheavals, economic and political. The same bewilderment and incomprehension of the child Carlos of the dictatorship is almost the same for us, fortunately thanks to April 25, 1974, we never had to lived this period. We also saw the birth of public television in Portugal, in black and white, the box that changed the world, also begins to change the habits of the Portuguese. The music also has a crucial role in this series. We heard each episode, the greatest successes that were a milestone of the music scene at the time. Ironically, we also recognize the lack of some of the groups that left a mark in the history of world music, the Beatles' case, precisely because the nation was closed to the world.
I believe this series and its Spanish counterpart equally successful in our neighboring country, should be target for a sociological study to explain the why of such a resounding success. Nostalgia for an era? Or simple curiosity of the public? Watch and decide.
