Zeni d'Ovar

Past and Present

This is an intriguing avant-garde look at what motivates the leisurely classes in Portugal, for better or worse, by director Manoel de Oliveira. Set in a spacious country home peopled with a wide-ranging cast of characters, the drama begins as the friends of a widow come to console her on the loss of her husband. But at one point, the widow goes upstairs, encounters her husband, and is faced with his accusations about the past. This event and others provide the means of revealing the petty, self-serving, egocentric, and romantic pursuits of the melange of people in the house. - Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Enchanted Isles

A French sailor circa 1850, disembarks in a desert Atlantic island, and discovers a woman who had survived for many years her husband and brother, who have died while searching for mysterious valuables. The young couple discover paradise, and its end.