2019年7月15日 星期一

How Love Survived Long Years’ Trials and Temptations – Movie Review : The Portuguese Woman








“The Portuguese Woman”, a film directed by Rita Azevedo Gomes, tells the story of a nameless lady from Portugal. The period setting is the age of war in Western Europe sometime in the 17th or 18th century. Lord von Ketten, a warrior, leaves his Portuguese wife one year after their marriage to join a decades-long battle with the Bishop of Trent in northern Italy. Instead of returning to Portugal, the lady takes up her abode in his family castle, a decaying mansion perched high on a rocky peak, to wait with her newborn baby for his return.



A large portion of the film is thus taken up with the description of the whirling vortex of unhappiness, loneliness and boredom the Portuguese woman is trapped in during what seems to be an interminable wait. How the lady rides out the agony of the long wait is shown in some trifling details of her daily life.



Missing her maiden home in Portugal, she is often seen holding a book which she never seems to be reading. She makes sketches and sculptures, too, from which she derives little joy, though, as can be seen from the casual way she handles the finished products. There is hardly any smile on her face except, perhaps, for the moment when she is bathing in a mountain stream, reveling in the freedom the practice affords her in contrast with the feeling of suffocation she endures within the confines of the mansion. Tormented by loneliness, she seeks companionship from the maid servants and slaves, laughing half-heartedly over their stale, childish games.  Besides, she must have been walking aimlessly around the vicinity of the mountains, exchanging pleasantries with the few rural dwellers who cross paths with her, for she seems very familiar with the sad story of an old woman with her face half hidden behind a thick veil.



Strangely, while a wolf cub and a kitten, both adopted, become her cherished pets, there seems a lack of communication between mother and child. The only time when she shows her motherly concern is when the child is almost choked on account of a slave’s negligence. The sporadic appearances of a teenager, obviously her son, later in the story only serve to indicate the years going by. Another teenager, probably the same boy but slightly more advanced in age, is seen responding to the bidding of the wheelchaired Ketten, whom he addresses as Lord. Why is so little importance attached to this character? It somehow highlights the fact that the mere focus of her life is to wait to be reunited with her husband. This probably accounts for the snail’s pace of the film with long quiet scenes to enhance the impression that time crawls on. 



Besides, plain colours also set the monotonous tone and mood of the movie. The Portuguese woman looks arrogant in her pale-coloured costumes of a silky texture, which, however, give no hint of her change of mood, if any. Even on the occasion of her husband’s return after a lengthy absence from home, there are no bright colours to heighten the long forgotten joy. On the other hand, the architectural decay and faded furnishings of the once-rich castle also reveal the dreariness of life and invoke a gloomy mood.



As the story drags on, however, the description of Lord von Ketten takes a sudden turn. Initially, his devotion to the never-ending war has taken him away from his wife for long years. In the few scenes of his brief appearances, he is heavily armoured like the rest of the warriors, always ready to get back to the battlefield. He shows no obvious interest in cultivating intimacy with his wife. But, quite surprisingly, he is later found to be capable of very passionate love, venting his anger on the pet wolf when provoked to fierce jealousy by Pero Lobato, his suspected rival. When Ketten lies in bed, nearly fatally wounded, whether the woman will finally fall for Pero keeps the audience emotionally engaged. And the depiction of Ketten’s strenuous struggles for survival is downright uplifting! These details add to the dramatic appeals of the otherwise stodgy film. They also give the impression that the film is a romance, though not a very tightly constructed one.



We are inevitably attracted by some artistic elements in the film, which can perhaps justify its languid pace. It begins with a singing narrator reciting the poem “Under the Lime Tree”. The narrator’s later reappearances between scenes, singing and commenting on the incidents, smack of something akin to visual poetry. Also artistically appealing are its painterly visuals. Each of the scenes is like a painting typical of those in the Middle Ages. One striking feature is the out-of-focus presence of gaping doors in several scenes, adding much to the mystery of the background spaces.



Overall, while telling about a woman of bravery, patience and tenacity, the film also shows how love can survive long years’ trials and temptations. Though there are moments when it seems a bit drawn-out, this is a film well worth our time and interest

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