A film by Carlos Saura
Portugal, 2007 (85 minutes)
Fado is to Portuguese music what flamenco is to Spain, tango to Argentina...
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SCREENINGS: St. Anthony Main 4/19 Sun. 2:15 PM 4/26 Sun. 5:00 PM |
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TICKETS: Buy Here Please note: All tickets, whether purchased online or at the box office, are non refundable. The same credit/debit card used to purchase tickets must be shown when picking up.
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Synopsis
Fado is to Portuguese music what flamenco is to Spain, tango to Argentina, but in these northern climes fado may not be a household word. Arguably the oldest music in the world, it means "fate" and is the heart of the Portuguese soul. Legendary Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura follows in the tradition of his Flamenco and Tango, completing with Fados his engaging trilogy exploring three of the 19th and 20th century's most enduring urban musical traditions. Fado, a type of music that can be traced back to 1820s Portugal, was introduced to Saura through the films of guitarist Amalia Rodrigues, the diva of fado. She described it in a song as "Love, jealousy / ash and fire / pain and sin. / All this exists / All this is sad. / All this is fado." Saura traces its humble beginnings in the slums of Lisbon to its changing modern-day manifestations, showing how this mournful music has informed modern Portuguese culture. Fados features performances by celebrated contemporary artists Camane, Caetana Veloso, Lila Downs and Chico Buarque as well as the legendary singers. Replete with dance performances, footage of Portugal's revolutionary (Salazar) times and clips from Rodrigues's Lisbon films, Fados evokes the melancholy roots of this music, bring us closer to the vibrant cultures of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America.
It is said that a fado performance is not successful if an audience is not moved to tears. This is a sad "feel-good movie", and as the Russians say, "it is so beautiful to be sad."
(Shown in cooperation with Walker Art symposium on world folk music later this month.)
(In Portuguese; English subtitles)
About the Director
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Principal Cast |
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Crew |
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