Ornithologist Fernando loses control of his canoe in a wild nature reserve in north-eastern Portugal. He is discovered some way off by two Chinese pilgrims. This encounter marks the start of a mythical journey, an existentialists quest with a role for Saint Anthony of Padua, to whom you appeal for help as a Catholic when you’ve lost something.
The result is an exciting ensemble of blasphemy and religiousness. Fernando commits sins – he plucks the apple and has sex with a shepherd – and also shows his better side: he loves and respects the grandiosity of nature. Reflective moments, occasionally filmed from the perspective of birds, are juxtaposed with grotesque scenes which seek out the limits of the comprehensible, with (sexually) explicit and bloody episodes as a consequence. All the facets of life come together in this film, which has the roaming soul Fernando at its heart.
Film details
- Countries of production
- Brazil, France, Portugal
- Year
- 2016
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2017
- Length
- 118'
- Medium/Format
- DCP
