Christopher Columbus, The Enigma (2007)

Fresh and Exciting

Absolutely Fantastic

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The film is basically about this. A married couple is traveling around looking up sites connected to Christopher Columbus and various people give us some information about this historical figures life. There's also a woman who no one seems to see following them around, perhaps she is supposed to be an angel or something like that but it really didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the film.Monoel de Oliveira was 99 at the the time he directed it so just that he made it was a great achievement but to be honest it wasn't too good.It was filmed quite beautifully! And many of the scenes were great by themselves. However it's structure was rather poor. It jumped too much in time and the beginning of the film didn't have too much to do with the rest as it focuses on the leads youth and travel to America which is just cut off. So much is built up to at this point. We have yet to meet the father who called on the lead and his brother and the flow was rather nice but then we are multiple years later and he is a doctor and a scientist lecturing a group of people on diagnoses. We are then told that he has a fiancé back in Portugal but has history as a "mistress".We then cut a few years into the future and our lead is getting married. And what follows (this is about half way into the film) is the actual plot which features 3 of their journeys, their honeymoon and two trips as old people. We have not heard a single word about Columbus since the beginning.What's sad is that it's all so underplayed. We never really get close to the couple and we never really see it's obsession nor what it does to their marriage. Yes he is always talking about Columbus but we never get to see what drives it and what consequences it has. Furthermore the plot could have been built up more. As it is now it almost appears as mainly great single scenes thrown together. In fact it seems like they only got time to shoot about half the story. I really wish they had added more, included Columbus more or less all the way, gotten closer on the couple, shown how the lead got so obsessed with Columbus to begin with and perhaps also added something about how he went from a poor immigrant to a respected doctor.It's length is just 75 minutes and it doesn't really give you time to get bored, the imagery is very nice to look at and you might learn a few things about Columbus. But this is far from a great film and I would not recommend it.

This film, as many on Manoel de Oliveira filmography, was made on a small budget, and it shows.Nevertheless tells a story based on a investigation that proves Colombo was Portuguese. Under a secret mission (working for Portuguese crown) trying to create a diversion for Spanish.Whilst Portuguese were making huge profits from the India maritime route (through South Africa), and knowing South America richness (gold, wood, and many other valuable goods), Spanish were sent on a (supposedly) wrong direction.Bad luck (or not?!?) they found new land. Carabean islands including Cuba. This is what makes it all interesting: this island was named be Colombo wish; why? Because there's a small village in Portuguese Alentejo, named...you guessed: Cuba! And there are also investigations showing this theory has every aspect to be right. Of course, Portuguese XVth century intelligence tried to delete all traces to Colombo genealogy.And there is no interest (Spanish and Italian) to investigate this theory deeply. That's why Colombo is still and hero claimed by many (Spain, Italy and USA) although the truth is probably a completely different story...

The movie has terrible actors. Even young actors from the Portuguese soap-operas are better. Well, when most of actors are from the family, the best actors from this movie are then the American secondary actors. It is more than obvious that this movie was made only to get some money to pay the holidays of all Oliveira's family to USA and Madeira. The sound is awful, as well as the image. A kid could do a movie with a better argument. In the end, everybody becomes convinced that Colombus wasn't Portuguese with again terrible arguments! The movie cannot has 1/10, since it has still one funny part: "Oh Silvia!..." when the old actress (director's wife) forgets her lines. A terrible pseudo-nationalist movie, as a old men's crank.

I wasn't expecting much of this movie, not that it was an Oliveiras', I really respect his work, but because of what i read about it.He had this story he wanted to tell and made a decision about how to do it. A risky and brave decision. It's not made to please a massive public nor the artistic cinema lovers. It sometimes looks like a thesis presentation or a documentary with perfectly shooted scenes.It's a journey that takes you along with a couple in the quest for the true nationality of the man who discovered the American continent. And an appeal to keep fresh in our memories the golden age of Portugal's history.For those who say that looks artificially due to the unnatural dialogs, you're right. But it's suppose to. The characters talk to you through the screen telling you that the world is small, finite and theones who first notice that where the Portuguese. I think that was thepoint of the movie. And for that matter, the cinematography was amazinglycontextualised.A Portuguese movie about Portugal, by the main reference of this country's cinema. And if you were born here, you should watch it.