Film Forum

(2001, Manoel de Oliveira) In film by 94-year-old director Oliveira (not his last), 77-year-old actor Piccoli stars on stage in Ionesco’s Exit the King, then learns that his wife, daughter, and son-in-law are dead. Years later he plays with his grandson, acts in The Tempest, blows off TV, and appears in John Malkovich’s Ulysses. 35mm. Approx. 90 min.

Reviews

“Plays like a swan song for both Piccoli and its director, Manoel de Oliveira... Somehow perceived by many as life-affirming, though the film could only be more explicitly about encroaching death had Piccoli feigned a ninety-minute heart attack. What these delusional viewers are likely responding to is the actor’s own vitality, still unmistakable even as he approached octogenarian status. The movie’s blatant defeatism seemed absurd, and hence was ignored. Get real: How could such a quietly robust screen presence ever cease to exist?”
– Mike D’Angelo, The Village Voice