Best Portuguese films
30 best Portuguese films by IMDb rating with at least 500 votes. As of 27/07/2020.
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30 titles
- DirectorMiguel Gonçalves MendesStarsJoão AfonsoÀngels BarcelóPilar del RíoA documentary on Nobel Prize Winner José Saramago and his feelings over his wife, his country and life, as a whole.
- DirectorAntónio Lopes RibeiroStarsVasco SantanaFrancisco RibeiroLeonor MaiaFrancisco, salesman in a shoe store, is totally in love with Tatão, which sells perfume in the same street. But he is an amateur theater actor, as she hates theater and is a fan of cinema. Will this unlikely love endure?
- DirectorArthur DuarteStarsAntónio SilvaMilúMaria EugéniaAnastácio lives in Lisbon and is fanatic for Sporting, one of the city's football teams. When the team travels to face Porto, he follows it with the family, staying in house of his friend, Mr. Barata, pretending to be rich.
- DirectorFrancisco RibeiroStarsMaria das NevesVasco SantanaAntónio SilvaThis classic of Portuguese cinema depicts the friendships and rivalries of the inhabitants of a square in downtown Lisbon, where exists a spirit of familiarity between neighbors.
- DirectorJosé Cottinelli TelmoStarsVasco SantanaBeatriz CostaAntónio SilvaAfter flunking in medical school, the young and bohemian Vasco need to trick his aunts, the main financers of his studies, preventing them to know that he is not a doctor.
- DirectorManoel de OliveiraStarsNascimento FernandesVital dos SantosAntónio PalmaThe story takes place in the old streets of Porto and by the banks of the Douro River. A gang of very young kids has just accepted a new member, Carlitos, a shy boy who has "played it tough" by stealing a doll in a shop. Carlitos soon has a crush on Terezinha, the only girl in the group. The trouble is that Eduardo, the gang boss, is also in love with the pretty girl. And he will not allow any rival to challenge him.
- DirectorJoão César MonteiroStarsCláudia TeixeiraJoão César MonteiroManuela de FreitasJoão de Deus is the manager of an ice-cream shop owned by an ex-prostitute, Paraíso dos Gelados (Ice-Cream Paradise). Through a unmoved desire of perfection, he seeks, through cleansing and purity to attain heaven. The surrounding world, however, does not comply with his decaying vision of lust and decay as a way of achieving his purpose.
- DirectorJoão César MonteiroStarsJoão César MonteiroManuela de FreitasRuy FurtadoLisbon, 1989. A middle-aged poor idiot, tormented by an illness, lives in a cheap room in a family boarding house, in the old section of the city's waterfront.
- DirectorPaulo RochaStarsRui GomesIsabel RuthRuy Furtado19-year-old Julio has just left the provinces to settle down in the outskirts of Lisbon. He lives in a poor area with his uncle Afonso and starts working as an apprentice shoemaker. At the shop he gets to know Ilda, a young housemaid and regular customer. Ilda is pretty, joyful, and modern, and Julio falls for her. The two young people, although very different from each other, embark on an idyll.
- DirectorArthur DuarteStarsAntónio SilvaMaria MatosMilúThe unlikely love between Luisinha, a humble girl who lives on a small pension in Lisbon, and Daniel, a wealthy aristocrat who decides to fight for the girl who loves against the prejudices of his family.
- DirectorMiguel GomesStarsTelmo ChurroMiguel GomesHortêncílio AquinaA restless retired woman teams up with her deceased neighbor's maid to seek out a man who has a secret connection to her past life as a farm owner at the foothill of Mount Tabu in Africa.
- DirectorAndrzej JakimowskiStarsEdward HoggAlexandra Maria LaraMelchior DerouetA blind teacher breaks the rules to help a female student rediscover the pleasures of life.
- DirectorJoão CanijoStarsRita BlancoAnabela MoreiraCleia AlmeidaA regular family living in the outskirts of Lisbon sees the serenity of their lives shaken beyond any remedy within a week.
- StarsAdriano LuzMaria João BastosRicardo PereiraFollows a jealous countess, a wealthy businessman, and a young orphaned boy across Portugal, France, Italy and Brazil where they connect with a variety of mysterious individuals.
- DirectorMarco MartinsStarsNuno LopesBeatriz BatardaMiguel GuilhermeIn the wake of his daughter's disappearance, a father wallowing in grief feeds his desire to find her with unusual methods.
- DirectorWalter SallesDaniela ThomasStarsFernanda TorresFernando Alves PintoAlexandre BorgesAfter the death of his mother, a young Brazilian decides to leave his country and travel to his mother's native land. In a foreign land, he finds love and danger.
- DirectorManoel de OliveiraStarsLeonor SilveiraCécile Sanz de AlbaLuís Miguel CintraEma is a very attractive but innocent girl, so pretty that cars crash in her presence. Young marries Dr. Carlo Paiva, who she is not attracted to, but is her father's friend. They move to the Valley of Abraham. Carlo loves her, but decides to sleep in a separate room, to avoid waking Ema when he has to return late at night. With time she begins to feel unhappy about her marriage so, with all the freedom she has, she takes a lover.
- DirectorPedro CostaStarsPedro HestnesNuno FerreiraInês de MedeirosVicente, seventeen, lives with brother Nino, ten-years-old, and his ailing father in a derelict house on the outskirts of the capital. They don't seem to remember their mother, and are very much attached to their father, despite his temper, and his frequent absences from home. One day, the father leaves for good, and Vicente and Nino swear to cover it up. It's their secret. Clara, the primary school assistant, is fascinatingly beautiful, and secretive, and (may be) she knows it aswel. There are other secrets, though: the origin of the money that appears at Vicente's house; the relationship between Vicente's well-to-do uncle and his girlfriend; the relationship between the four people who once played the cards together, and now can't stand each other.
- DirectorAlain TannerStarsBruno GanzTeresa MadrugaJulia VonderlinnA Swiss sailor abandons his post during a stopover in Lisbon and takes up residence in a small hotel in the city.
- DirectorFernando AlleStarsPedro Barão DiasMaria LeiteJoão VilasMaria, a fearless soldier, and TS-347, a man with superhuman strength, are being pursued by a military cell responsible for scientific experiments that have resulted in a zombie apocalypse.
- DirectorAntónio-Pedro VasconcelosStarsMaria do Céu GuerraJoão JesusFernanda SerranoAn 18 year old boy with a complicated life starts a criminal career but ends up on a rooftop of Lisbon. On the apartment below lives a recently widowed, lonely old lady. Against all odds and her family's will, they become each others best company.
- DirectorJoão MaiaStarsSérgio PraiaFilipe DuarteVictoria GuerraA biopic about António Variações, a famous Portuguese pop rock singer from the 80s who died from AIDS-related complications in 1984.
- DirectorLuis IsmaelStarsJorge NetoLuis IsmaelJ.D. DuarteTone, the leader of the gang, returns home after sometime abroad, to try to save his father's life that is on the verge of death, and needs a liver transplant to survive. For this task he needs the help of his gang, once again.
- DirectorJoão MoreiraPedro SantoStarsAdriano LuzRogério SamoraJosé NetoThe famous character of YouTube, Bruno Aleixo books his own movie. In fact, Bruno decides to write an autobiography. He meets with friends so they can consider the ideas for the text.
- DirectorAntónio-Pedro VasconcelosStarsJoaquim de AlmeidaEmmanuelle SeignerNicolau BreynerEvery year, four ex-soldiers who call themselves "Os Imortais" ("The Immortals"), get together with four women to celebrate their war deeds and remember the old days, back in the war. On the summer of 1985, tired of their monotonous lives, they decide to rob a bank. Joaquim Malarranha, a chief inspector from the local police force who is about to retire, crosses their path and chooses to spend his last days of duty trying to solve the robbery. But as he carries on with his investigation, he discovers more than he could have ever imagined...
- DirectorPedro PinhoStarsJosé Smith VargasCarla GalvãoNjamy SebastiãoOne night, a group of workers discover their factory is being dismantled by the same administration that runs it. Quickly, the labourers organize themselves in order to occupy the plant.
- DirectorPedro CostaStarsVanda DuarteLena DuarteZita DuarteThe film follows the daily life of Vanda Duarte, a heroin addict in Lisbon, and the community she lives in.
- DirectorJoão César MonteiroStarsRita DurãoJoão César MonteiroJoana AzevedoAfter receiving a visit from a messenger of God, João de Deus wins his buddy's girlfriend through a roll of the dice.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsRüdiger VoglerPatrick BauchauVasco SequeiraThe director Friedrich Monroe has trouble with finishing a silent b&w movie about Lisbon. He calls his friend, the sound engineer Phillip Winter, for help. As Winter arrives Lisbon weeks later, Monroe is disappeared but has left the unfinished film. Winter decides to stay, because he is fascinated of the city and the Portuguese singer Teresa, and he starts to record the sound of the film. At the same time Monroe cruises through the city with a camcorder and tries to catch unseen pictures. Later they meet and Winter convinces Monroe of finishing the film.
- DirectorPedro CostaStarsVitalina VarelaVenturaManuel Tavares AlmeidaA Cape Verdean woman navigates her way through Lisbon, following the scanty physical traces her deceased husband left behind and discovering his secret, illicit life.