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The Strange Case of Angelica

Play trailer Poster for The Strange Case of Angelica Released Dec 29, 2010 1h 35m Drama Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 27 Reviews 44% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
The line between reality and fantasy blurs for a photographer (Ricardo Trêpa) when a dead bride appears to come to life through his camera lens.

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The Strange Case of Angelica

Critics Reviews

View All (27) Critics Reviews
Guest Haden Film Comment Magazine Oliveira's first use of 21st-century digital technology paradoxically marks a return to the origins of cinema with the special effects trembling with a handcrafted sincerity and shimmering sense of wonder Nov 7, 2013 Full Review Bruce DeMara Toronto Star The Strange Case of Angelica is indeed strange and unsettling. What it isn't is compelling or satisfying. Rated: 1.5/4 May 15, 2011 Full Review Kate Taylor Globe and Mail An uneven but intriguing piece of whimsy that veers from powerfully symbolic cinematography into self parody. Rated: 2/4 May 13, 2011 Full Review Mattie Lucas From the Front Row A master class in cinematic formalism, from a man with a lifetime of knowledge and experience. Rated: 3.5/4 Jun 7, 2019 Full Review Shelagh Rowan-Legg That Shelf The film should have been called 'The Strange Case of Isaac' and admitted its true direction. May 16, 2018 Full Review Michael Sicinski Cinema Scope Angelica is every bit as concerned with the problems of cinema as Oliveira's more theatrically inclined works, but explores them through more specifically visual means. Nov 27, 2017 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (35) audience reviews
Audience Member There is a high contrast between the "inside" and the "outside" of "The strange case of Angelica" and this creates the feeling of two worlds colliding(much like in its protagonist's life). Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Sometimes you have to feel that it is a film, pretty far from Holly Wood's nonsense special effects . Then you can feel the way of an artistic approach from the director and the other staff through the movie. I felt like more or less watching a theater rather than a movie about this film. So pure and simple, so scenery and appealing. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member Dear Manoel de Oliveira, Director of THE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA You must tell me your secret. Echinacea? Gene supplements? Cryogenic freezing? It's not that I find it amazing that you've lived to the ripe old age 103; no, Chinese peasants and Indian yogis do it all the time. What I find amazing is that you've maintained your artistic faculties to this late stage, and - perhaps more amazingly - are using them to pose questions about the very act of filmmaking that, after more than eight decades behind the camera, you're still engaged in... (CONT"D) http://www.dearcastandcrew.com/letters/2012/12/4/the-strange-case-of-angelica.html Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member One beautiful shot after another, but I have never really connected with MdO, because I don't think he really cares about people connecting with his films. The man was 102 when he made this, and when you already have a foot on the far shore, satisfying an audience is probably the last thing on your mind. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member a typical art house movie does not contain eeriness of an horror movie and also lacks the romance of the romantic movie. an strictly ok movie. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member A strange film that's actually not really all that strange in an era where strange films are quite common. de OIiveira's visual craft is superb. In fact, the film warrants a profound study just solely on the visuals alone. But it's a shame that this is a film and not a painting as the visuals do not make up for the lack of coherency in the writing. The dialogue is really horrendous at times with on-the-nose exposition seeking to explain and elaborate on what we already know and the overarching plot is rather silly. The premise of seeing ghosts through a camera is an interesting one, but de Oliviera doesn't develop this at all and the ghost sightings become more annoying than intriguing. Furthermore, the romance between Issac and Angelica is immensely contrived. The characters have literally no reason to be in love with each other and Issac just spends most of the film wandering around without much purpose. The entire concept of "love at first sight" is a bit shaky at best and de Oliviera seems to grasp on to the concept as if it's a God-sent universal truth. Thus, Issac and Angelica's romance couldn't be more uninteresting in a film that's apparently about love. Minimalist films without a strong cause and effect can work well to communicate a theme or message: such as Blow Up. But The Strange Case of Angelica is minimalist to a fault where too little happens and what does occur happens with too little logic and reasoning behind it. Ultimately, de Oliviera seems to have an idea for a film and all he did was shoot that idea without further thought. A film can lack a traditional story structure, but it cannot lack a purpose. The Strange Case of Angelica seems to lack both. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Strange Case of Angelica

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Movie Info

Synopsis The line between reality and fantasy blurs for a photographer (Ricardo Trêpa) when a dead bride appears to come to life through his camera lens.
Director
Manoel de Oliveira
Producer
Francois d'Artemare, Maria João Mayer, Luis Miñarro, Renata de Almeida, Leon Cakoff
Screenwriter
Manoel de Oliveira
Distributor
Cinema Guild
Production Co
Mostra Internacional de Cinema, Filmes do Tejo II, Eddie Saeta S.A., Les Films de l'Après-Midi
Genre
Drama, Fantasy
Original Language
Brazilian Portuguese
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 29, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 18, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$47.7K
Runtime
1h 35m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.66:1)
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