Portugal, mon amour France, Portugal 2013 – 90min.

Movie Rating

La cage dorée

Movie Rating: Agathe Tissier

A Portuguese couple inherit a house back home and struggle with leaving Paris, their home for 30 years.

Maria and José (Rita Blanco & Joacquim de Almeida) left Portugal 30 years ago to settle in Paris. Three decades of hard work for Maria, who slaves as the cleaning lady for the inhabitants of the building where they live, and for José, who has a solid reputation with his boss (Roland Giraud) as a building site manager. A good life, with two kids in a family that is well integrated into the neighborhood. And so they are stunned when they find out they have inherited a house and money back home. But what would their lives look like if they left? When word gets out about their big news, they become the target of those who want to keep them in Paris, and they themselves don't really know whether they want to leave a country that has since become home.

Ruben Alves' debut is a family comedy with a sharp eye towards social issues, asking mostly relevant questions about integration, roots and ties broken by the new country. The movie is well served by an excellent ensemble of actors who know how to bounce back from clichés that are nevertheless often close to reality. This little gilded cage opens its doors onto sweet sentiments, letting an air of tenderness escape.

23.03.2022

4

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