A Deneuve Dozen
A TALKING PICTURE
DIRECTOR: MANOEL DE OLIVEIRA
PORTUGAL/FRANCE/ITALY, 2003
“A history professor and her young daughter embark in Lisbon on a cruise with stops at the places that fill the historian’s imagination, from Pompeii to the pyramids at Giza. At each, they talk of myths and other truths, the inquisitive youngster in every sense following in her mother’s footsteps. Meanwhile, a trio of twentieth century goddesses, Delphine (Catherine Deneuve), Aphrodite (Stefania Sandrelli), and Helena (Irene Papas), are guests at ship captain John Malkovich’s table, where they share fin-de-siècle regrets, both cultural and personal. But while they talk and talk, other things are happening on the wine-dark seas; another world is rising to the surface, implies Oliveira, who is in a fin-du-monde mood.”—Pacific Film Archive. (96 mins.)