This film tells the story of portuguese poet Luiz Vaz de Camoes (1525-1580), there for a Renaissance poet. As an important introduction, he is one of most, if not the most, important figure of portuguese culture (so you can evaluate for yourself, our national day is the day the poet died, 10 June). Personally speaking, as I am portuguese, I'm glad that this film exists, since it shows an important attempt to pass Portugal's history,which being so rich has been somewhat neglected by portuguese filmmakers, to cinema. I consider the final result pretty positive, and this to be one good example of portuguese 40's cinema. It is true that Camoes is in here reduced to what we perfectly know of him, the director takes no chance in assuming things that might have been true and shows us little of the real depths of the poet's soul (that is in fact the main flaw of the film, we don't get to be shown why was he in fact such a genious and inspired poet as he in fact was...) but than again that gives autenticy and historical reliability to the film. I also enjoy the way you see the character progress throughout the film, in the end he looks and acts really as the old, bittered man he was, as in the beginning looks young, joyful and healthy. This evolution is noticed mainly in my opinion because of the outstanding superb acting of one the greatest gentleman of portuguese cinema, Antonio Vilar who would after this film be invited to several foreign productions, proving the recognition he had after this one. Great moments, among them the ende, Camoes death, really touching, and the scene preceding his departure to India, in which he decides to tell portuguese history in a poem that was to become a sort of portuguese "bible", Os Lusiadas. That scene is very powerful, since the music is excelent along with the images from the walls (and in here I deeply regret the film wasn't coloured because I believe this scene would double its strenght).
Still I have to regret that Camoes exile years were reduced in the film to a mere report on what he did and to a legendary, almost unavoidable scene of the ship wreckage in which he saves his master piece but swimming with only one arm. Those very rich years were very important in his life and put in the film would, I'm shure, make it a real gem, almost another masterpiece (the solution would be to take some time spent in intrigues and romantic misadventures and put it in the journey years). Still those are direction options, maybe also conditioned by financial difficulties. Petty though.
An excelent, I mean five stars note to the soundtrack, by Ruy Coelho, an important portuguese composer, who makes here the right music for the right moments. All the moments have the right music to support them. Also the general acting is very good, petty this generation of portuguese actors wasn't so used in good films like this as it might have been... Though watch this, you may learn something and if you are portuguese notice how well every word of our beautiful language is pronounced, though the film sound (and image) is not so great you can clearly understand every word... I would like to hear this clear sounding portuguese in today's actors...
