A idade maior

A idade maior, a sensitive, poetic and personal film, makes tangible a concealed episode from recent Portuguese history in a special and very visual way. Portugal before the Carnation Revolution in April 1974 was a proud and isolated state. Cut off from the outside world, the Portuguese lived with their own stories based on fear, treachery, fights and love. Terese Villaverde wanted to voice this old isolation of her country with the aid of a small number of people. The great taboo for those involved is talking about the colonial war in Africa; this terror is collectively suppressed. The soldiers who return also keep their mouths tightly shut.From the perspective of 9-year-old Alex, the film shows the effects of the great silence on everyday life. The pictures of the boy’s youth are memories, with their distortions, of the now adult Alex. From his adult understanding he poses questions with the pictures and provides commentary. Alex’s father emerged from the war without being able to share his traumatic experiences with anyone. The persistent silence drive him into death. For years, Alex’s mother ran the small bar ‘Aurora’ on her own to maintain the family. The return of the father did little to change this situation, because heonly ‘appears’ to return from the war. On his return to Portugal he doesn’t even go home at first, but into hiding locally.This first film by the young Portuguese film-maker has a striking richness and depth; it is populated by moving and credible people and has a ‘clear emotional pathos’ (Dimitri Eipides).