Theatre director Francisco Bernardes stages The Jester, based on Alexandre Herculano’s 1842 novel on Portuguese independence. Set in an old film studio, Bernardes also stars as Dom Bibas, a man observing court intrigues. José Álvaro Morais’ debut skillfully blends past and present, life and film.
1978, the Carnation Revolution might be past, but it’s far from over – yesteryear’s shadows are just too long for that. Theatre director-actor Francisco Bernardes uses an old film studio for the rehearsals of his latest production, O bobo, based upon Alexandre Herculano’s eponymous 1842 novel about the beginnings of Portugal’s independence and the intrigues of its first sovereign, Afonso I. A heady choice for the period, to say the least! Especially as Bernardes himself plays the lead character, Dom Bibas, the man in the background who observes the court intrigues from a distance, and thus knows which connections to sever and which to cultivate…
Theatre and life, past and present, film and theatre: everything gets mixed up in José Álvaro Morais’ hors-normes feature debut whose elegant play with stylisations and irony made it a key stepping stone in the ongoing development of a very Portuguese cinematic modernism. Screened at IFFR in 1988, The Jester now returns to the festival in a fine digital restoration!
– Olaf Möller
Film details
- Country of production
- Portugal
- Year
- 1987
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2025
- Length
- 120'
- Medium/Format
- DCP
