Lines of Wellington

Had everything to work...good cast, beautiful landscapes, and a very good story... Unfortunately, there's no movie director in this god forsaken country, that knows what "action"means...to do a movie like this, without any battle scenes, in absurd, at least... So, don't bother... it's very very boring...

A superb piece of Portugal cinema. Somewhat slow, however, if you love history you will be enthralled.

If you think about the French Invasions of the 19th Century, you think about a time of war, tragedy, heroism, violence and excesses. It is the perfect plot for an epic movie. Unfortunately, in the case of "Linhas de Wellington", the movie is Portuguese. Don't get me wrong, I am Portuguese too. What I mean is that we, as a nation, have a very hard time dealing with our own heritage and heroes. I don't know, perhaps deep inside each of us knows how short we fell of living up to our forefathers extraordinary legacy. Anyway, regardless of the reason why, the fact is that we do not give enough praise to the best among us, and that reflects on our modern art in general and in this movie in particular. That being said, instead of all the drama, heroism and war, this movie shows the story of simple people, ordinary anonymous folks, leaving their land as the French Army advances. Unfortunately, there are too many characters, not shown long enough for the viewer too actually identify himself with any of them. That turns the movie into a tale about people you don't really care for. As for the Duque of Wellington, the way he is portrayed is nothing short of revolting... As you would expect from a Portuguese movie because of all I said above. As a conclusion, "Linhas de Wellington" is a big disappointment. It is watchable, but nothing more than that.

I watched this film, all 150 minutes of it, from a DVD I received from FilmMovement. Apparently this film, a European production, is hardly known in North American.

At 150 minutes this is one long film, and if you expect to see epic battle scenes you will be disappointed. The story centres around the English and Portuguese armies retreating, with many civilians, from the advent of the Napoleonic army. There are many characters involved in several sub-plots, and three languages (English, French and Portuguese) are used in the dialogues. One can get confused easily.

Despite its flaws, I find the film watchable for the settings, for the costume, and for certain portions of the human dramas depicted. And forget about the presence of the two big-name French actresses referenced in the credit. Both Isabelle Hupert and Catherine Deneuve appeared in an inconsequential scene for less than two minutes.

I rent the DVD in hope of getting a movie on Napoleonic warfare and the Portuguese campaign. Actually, this is a collection of soap opera sketches set against the grim background of the general evacuation brought about by the French advance.

This bleak background provides the contrasting point to the light, humorous, often implausible and generally unhistorical approach that characterizes the sketches. They are centered on different individuals involved in the evacuation and they bear an unmistakable (and irritating to me) feminine touch. The character of Wellington is not made an exception and the filmmakers make no attempt to portray his personality or his military abilities.

Another annoying touch is that the French are portrayed as involved in all kinds of base butchery. These acts of cruelty are partly exaggerated; for the part that they are true, no attempt is made to explain that this was the normal trend in this era and that the English and the Portuguese behaved in exactly the same way. Historical exactness plays no part in the movie; since all characters are English or Portuguese and they are presented sympathetically, the director needed some bad guys on the other side of the pond.

In conclusion: a successful attempt at duplicating American soap operas set against a historical background. Go to the box office if you are interested in comedy; don't go if you have any serious penchant for history.