Octogenarian film director
Manoel de Oliveira travels autobiographical avenues in this portrait of a film director Manoel (
Marcello Mastroianni) who is shooting on location in Portugal. During a break, one of the film's actors, Afonso, born in France but of Portuguese descent, travels to his father's birthplace, accompanied by the director and two other actors. The journey takes them to Alto Minho in the north of Portugal, where they look back on rural Portugal and the memories of a lifetime. This was Mastroianni's last film. The film is loosely based on the experiences of French actor Yves Afonso while shooting a film in Portugal in 1987. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide