Al Berto

It's quite odd to watch this film and realise that it's not that long ago that homosexuality was illegal in Portugal. Slap bang amidst the "Carnation Revolution", optimism was high in a country recovering from decades of dictatorship and the young were at the forefront of that new-found confidence. "Al Berto" (Ricardo Teixeira) lives in what was his family home with his mother, friends, and his boyfriend "João Maria" (José Pimentão). They live quite an openly Bohemian existence and it's soon one that gradually draws the unwelcome attention of their intolerant neighbours and the equally unsympathetic police force. The first half hour of this offers us quite an engaging look at the emergent enthusiasm for change in a beautiful country so long under a cosh, but sadly as the story continues it hits some well trammelled lines of domestic frustrations, familial discord and it falls into a trap of melodrama and rather dull stereotype. There's a bit of chemistry between the two leading men at times, but again even that peters out as their initially largely physical attraction to each other starts to wain. It is a nicely put together film, though, with effort going into the aesthetic but it just runs out of steam.