Diamantino

Gabriel Abrantes, author of the short film “A Brief History of Princess X” screened at the 9th edition of Lo schermo dell’arte, comes back with a new long feature film co-directed with the Canadian director Daniel Schmidth. The two, who had already worked together for “A History of Mutual Respect” (2010) and “Palàcios de Pena” (2011), created a pop, surreal, fun and at times nonsensical fiction. The protagonist, a Portuguese soccer champion named Diamantino who resembles Cristiano Ronaldo, concludes his brilliant career after a missed penalty during the World Cup final. In order to react to this crisis, aggravated by the death of his father and manager who will be substituted in this role by the terrible and cynical sisters, and in order to find a new purpose in life, Diamantino launches in an eventful personal odyssey, which will lead him to come to terms with nationalism, immigration and genetic manipulation. This film thus deals with a clear spirit of criticism some of the key issues of modern-day Europe, and it develops with contrasting moods and atmospheres; fanciful and comic at times, dark and dystopic at others. However, the ending is a message of love and hope.