Silvestre

Silvestre
by João César Monteiro
1981 | Portugal | Restored digital copy | 1h 58m

The film’s story is drawn from two traditional Portuguese novels: ‘A Donzela que Vai à Guerra’ (The Maiden Who Goes to War) (15th century?), of peninsular Jewish origin, and a novella, ‘A Mão do Finado’ (The Hand of the Deceased), passed down through oral tradition and forming part of the Bluebeard cycle.

D. Rodrigo has two daughters, one legitimate and the other illegitimate: Sílvia and Susana. Feeling old and without a male heir, D. Rodrigo decides to marry Sílvia to a wealthy nobleman, D. Paio, his neighbour, with the aim of ensuring the expansion of his estates. After a brief visit from the groom, who is a womaniser, D. Rodrigo sets off for the court to invite the King to the wedding. As he takes his leave, he warns his daughters not to open the manor’s doors to anyone. One day, a pilgrim appears asking for shelter and Sílvia, disobeying her father’s orders, ends up opening the door to him…

with Maria de Medeiros, Teresa Madruga, Luis Miguel Cintra, Jorge Silva Melo