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Focuses on fado, a type of music that can be traced back to eighteen-twenties Portugal. Through a series of musical vignettes, we journey through the history of fado, studying its various styles and permutations as it absorbs Brazilian and African influences.

I've seen other Saura films so I did sort of know what to expect but I found this one disappointing compared to other works of his, such as Flamenco. The music was beautiful. I love fado and the tribute to Amalia Rodrigues was particularly touching. Yet the visuals for the film were pretty mediocre and, at times, downright boring. I felt he did this film on the cheap and it showed. There was not a strong narrative connecting the songs together and the predominantly modern dance sometimes induced a sense of fraught angst and frustration, not of the deep sweet sadness of the songs. I think I'll still probably buy the soundtrack but it's not worth watching.



Genres: Art/Foreign, Documentary, Drama and Musical/Performing Arts

Running Time: 1 hr. 32 min.

Production Co.: Zebra Producciones (Spain), Fado Filmes, Duvideo

Produced in: Portugal