Torre Bela (1975) User Reviews

Great political documentary.

[jimkav-1 · 14 December 2004]

One of the best political documentaries ever made. The process by which a revolutionary movement develops on a local scale, its relation to a radicalizing military, and its difficulties and peculiar development in specific cultural conditions have never been more honestly portrayed. Wathcing the soldiers tell the local peasants to do something force the soldiers to act on their behalf -- "Act now. The law will come later." --is astounding. I saw the movie when it originally came out, in a showing in Berkeley, CA with the director. I showed in once in a political film festival I organized. It is very hard to find. See it if at all possible. I've never seen a better account of a revolution in process.

An unintentional indictment of expropriation

[MMSequeira · 10/10 · 18 January 2011]

This precious documentary gives its viewers a rare insight into the communist/socialist mindset and what it really means in practice. The documentary was filmed with the clear intention of praising the Portuguese revolutionary process that took place from the April 25, 1974, revolution, which overturned the old, authoritarian Estado Novo regime installed in 1926, until the democratic coup of November 25, 1975. The directors' intentions totally backfire, however, since what the documentary makes really clear is how a small bunch of revolutionaries can manipulate a mob of peasants into performing acts it formerly considered unthinkable: namely, robbing and invading the property of others. Hence, this attempt at a pamphlet is actually a superb indictment of the communist/socialist opposition to private property. A must.