O Grande Elias (1950)

I was looking for a film to watch today and an odd choice sort of fell in my lap as I thought long and hard. I was cruising the tube when I came across the Portuguese channel and saw that an old film was about to air. I decided that since I am Portuguese that I would be put my language skills to the test as I checked out O Grande Elias which is considered part of the golden age of Portuguese cinema as the film was directed by the legendary Arthur Duarte (A Garça e a Serpente) in this Chaplin styled comedy. Mr. Elias (Estevão Amarante) is not a very rich man, but he lives a modest life in Portugal. One day, he finds out some very unfortunate news that now has him worried to death. His Aunt Adriana (Cremilda de Oliveira) is coming to visit him in Portugal, but he doesn't know what to do because she thinks that he is a wealthy man. So, Elias with the help of some friends decides that he is going to occupy his wealthy neighbors house while he is away, but the more lies he tells the deeper he gets especially when said neighbor comes back unexpectedly. The film also stars Milú (Os Três da Vida Airada) as Ana Maria, Maria Olguim (El huésped del cuarto número 13) as Francisca, Francisco Ribeiro (The Courtyard Of The Ballads) as Frail Wrestler, and Antonio Silva (O Costa do Castelo) as Elias.

This film really put my language skills to the test because there were no subtitles and I had to really pay attention to what they were saying to get what was going on. One thing I will say is that I absolutely loved this film because it was well directed and the jokes in the film were executed flawlessly and excellently. It was almost like they had gone to the school of Charlie Chaplin before making this film because it had that kind of a feel to it. One of my favorite scenes in the film happens in the wrestling match because at this point they've told so many lies; they get into situations like this. It is at this point that the goofy slapstick comedy shines the best and as I said is done so well. As far as the acting is concerned, Antonio Silva was absolutely brilliant as he commanded the screen with his screen stealing performance as the "Butler". He is the savior of everything they do and he is almost the reason why the lie works for so long which is great because as I said he just commanded the screen every time he appeared. I definitely think that it's good to check out foreign films because they sometimes help explain where that country was at during the time it was made. I need you to think about this for a second, Portugal was under the rule of a dictator at the time of the filming and release of the film. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.