summary
Dom Sebastião plans to create a Portuguese empire, and leaves to fight in the name of Christ in Africa. In 1578, he faced a Muslim sultan during the Battle of Alcácer Quibir, but mysteriously disappeared without a trace… and thus this tragic disappearance gave birth to the legend of the Hidden King. In Portugal, this hero myth is reflected in the arrival of the king on his white horse, one foggy morning. His return has an ultimate goal: to preserve humanity from evil.
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The entire cast and crew
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12 newspaper articles
Shakespearean drama. The scenario here, taken from a play, presents the thoughts and doubts of the Portuguese King Sebastian, who was quite mysterious and died very young in combat. These are dialogues between the king and his advisors, his grandmother who raised him, and a kind of philosopher-shoemaker. These are reflections on power, the power of the king, war, fear, etc. Therefore, the film tells the story of one day in the life of this king…
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“The Fifth Empire” by Manuel de Oliveira is a breathtaking work that shines with the strength of its dialogues and the drama surrounding it, and its dramatic background about the decline of civilizations and the myth of the historical savior hero is universal. The settings are quite spare, which can't help but encourage you to stick around for particularly dense verbal exchanges. However, the apparent length of the story does…
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2 viewer comments
According to Jose Riggio
The Fifth Empire is based on the play El Rei Sebastião by Portuguese writer José Reggio. Manuel de Oliveira, who was a friend of this author, born in 1900 and died in 1968, had already brought two of his works to the screen: Benilde ou a Virgem-Mae in 1974 and My Case in 1986. In 1965, he had filmed it in A short documentary entitled As Pinturas do Meu Irmão Júlio: The writer evokes the paintings of his brother, the painter Julio.
Oliveira and history
After scrutinizing his contemporaries in I'm Coming Home, The Uncertainty Principle and Talkie, and conveying memories of my childhood in Porto, Manuel de Oliveira, with The Fifth Empire, once again delves into Portuguese history and mythology, as he did in (2000) with Parole et Utopia, a film about the Inquisition.
Oliveira family
Manuel de Oliveira has surrounded himself with his loyal collaborators: Frenchwoman Valérie Loiselo, editor of all his films since 1992's Divine Comedy (except The Uncertainty Principle), and producer Paulo Branco, a Portuguese resident in Paris since 1973 who has worked with the director since Amour de perdition in 1979. Oliveira also calls upon French cinematographer Sabine Lancelin for the second time. distribution
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Technical information
Nationalities
France,
Portugal
Distributor
Gemini movies
Year of production
2004
DVD release date
–
Blu-ray release date
–
VOD release date
–
Film type
Film length
Photography secrets
3 tales
budget
2,400,000 euros
Languages
Portuguese
Production coordination
–
color
color
Audio format
–
Projection format
–
Visa number
109802
To discover other films: Best films of 2004, Best drama films, Best drama films of 2004.
