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Vitalina Varela

Play trailer Poster for Vitalina Varela 2020 2h 4m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
95% Tomatometer 64 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
A woman moves from Cape Verde to her deceased husband's shack on the outskirts of Lisbon.

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Vitalina Varela

Vitalina Varela

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Critics Consensus

Rigorous and beautifully composed, Vitalina Varela is a quietly absorbing drama whose placid surface belies hidden depths.

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Critics Reviews

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Adam Nayman The Ringer 01/27/2021
Costa-who is one of the great image makers-visualizes that sense of relief and renewal beautifully. It's amazing how powerful the sight of blue skies can be after being plunged into endless night. Go to Full Review
Jake Wilson The Age (Australia) 08/06/2020
The enduring paradox of Costa's work is that this setting has its own irresistible glamour, reminiscent of fashion photography; the people he films are his models. Go to Full Review
Joe Morgenstern Wall Street Journal 03/26/2020
Vitalina Varela is demanding, rewarding, and ineffably stirring. Go to Full Review
Dennis Harvey 48 Hills 03/04/2024
A painterly minimalist drama... Go to Full Review
Yasser Medina Cinefilia 09/08/2023
5/10
Far from the tenebrist plasticity that adds poetry with chiaroscuro, it seems to me a leaden, futile and overwhelmingly lethargic docufiction exercise from Costa. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Benjamín Harguindey EscribiendoCine 05/03/2023
8/10
The film elicits oppression and anguish, but in its search, it also allows (literal) rays of hope. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Andrew F 09/27/2024 The film looks like a Rembrandt on even my smallish screen. I can't imagine how good it would look on the big screen. It's sparse and despairing, but beautiful and straightforward. A bitter but decent woman is angry at her dead husband who abandoned her decades previously. She seeks some kind of redemption through the church, but can find none. It's a lot of Beckett's "I can't go on, I can't go on, I'll go on." It's kindred spirit with Bresson, amateur actors, beautiful framing mise en scene, moving slowly yet assuredly. We are caught up in the director's vision of our fate. See more dave d 12/03/2020 There aren't many words in Vitalina Varela. This is a forgettable feature. Here's what ya do... Smoke three bowls. Then you can become a critic and talk about how artsy it is. It's a bore, but it's fun to look at. It's a film that just lies there and if it's your cup of tea then good for you. It isn't mine and I dare you to tell me what it was about without looking up a summary. Exactly. Final Score: 1.8/10 See more 06/12/2020 The story didn't do anything for me, but holy cow this movie is absolutely stunning visually. Unlike anything I've ever seen before. Must see. See more 05/03/2020 This movie is horrible See more Read all reviews
Vitalina Varela

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Movie Info

Synopsis A woman moves from Cape Verde to her deceased husband's shack on the outskirts of Lisbon.
Director
Pedro Costa
Producer
Abel Ribeiro Chaves
Screenwriter
Pedro Costa, Vitalina Varela
Distributor
Grasshopper Film
Production Co
Optec
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Portuguese
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 21, 2020, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 18, 2020
Runtime
2h 4m
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