Films in Portuguese
From Brazil and Angola to Mozambique and Portugal, Portuguese is spoken by over 265 million people, and is the most widely spoken language in the southern hemisphere. In honor of World Portuguese Language Day, this spotlight celebrates Lusophone films from around the world.
Bacurau
A Brazilian village is targeted by a group of armed mercenaries… who may have met their match.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2019
- Director Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles
- Cast Bárbara Colen, Udo Kier, Sônia Braga, Thomas Aquino, Silvero Pereira, Wilson Rabelo
- Genre Mystery, Thriller, Western
- Available on Showtime Apple TV Channel, Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
Invisible Life
(A Vida Invisível)
Two estranged sisters struggle to make lives for themselves despite the restrictive expectations of 1950s Brazil.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2019
- Director Karim Aïnouz
- Cast Carol Duarte, Julia Stockler, Fernanda Montenegro, Gregório Duvivier, Bárbara Santos, Flávia Gusmão
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Freevee
Saint George
(São Jorge)
An unemployed boxer accepts a job with a debt-collection agency and becomes immersed in a world of violence and crime.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Portugal, France • 2016
- Director Marco Martins
- Cast Nuno Lopes, Beatriz Batarda, Jean-Pierre Martins, Gonçalo Waddington, Mariana Nunes, José Raposo
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Hoopla
Arabian Nights: Volume 1, The Restless One
(As Mil e Uma Noites: Volume 1, O Inquieto)
To avoid being beheaded, Scheherazade tells King Shahryar unfinished tales of modern Portugal each night.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Portugal, France, Germany • 2015
- Director Miguel Gomes
- Cast Crista Alfaiate, Miguel Gomes, Carloto Cotta, Adriano Luz, Rogério Samora, Maria Rueff
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Kanopy
Arabian Nights: Volume 2, The Desolate One
(As Mil e Uma Noites: Volume 2, O Desolado)
In this second installment of Gomes’ trilogy, Scheherazade tells three tales of a Portugal in crisis
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Portugal, France, Germany • 2015
- Director Miguel Gomes
- Cast Crista Alfaiate, Chico Chapas, Luísa Cruz, Pedro Caldas, Gonçalo Waddington, Margarida Carpinteiro
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
The Second Mother
(Que Horas Ela Volta?)
Unspoken class barriers within a home come crashing down when the live-in housekeeper's daughter suddenly appears.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2015
- Director Anna Muylaert
- Cast Regina Casé, Camila Márdila, Karine Teles, Lourenço Mutarelli, Michel Joelsas, Helena Albergaria
- Genre Drama
- Available on OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
The Way He Looks
(Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho)
Not every love happens at first sight.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2014
- Director Daniel Ribeiro
- Cast Ghilherme Lobo, Fábio Audi, Tess Amorim, Lúcia Romano, Eucir de Souza, Selma Egrei
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Strand Releasing Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
What Now? Remind Me
(E Agora? Lembra-me)
A documentary about director Joaquim Pinto’s experience living with HIV.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Portugal, Spain • 2014
- Director Joaquim Pinto
- Cast Joaquim Pinto, Nuno Leonel, Rita Gomes, Serge Daney, Raúl Ruiz
- Genre Documentary, History
- Available on DocAlliance Films, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Kanopy
Blood of My Blood
(Sangue do Meu Sangue)
A Portuguese family has their life turned upside down when the eldest daughter falls for an older man.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Portugal • 2011
- Director João Canijo
- Cast Rafael Morais, Nuno Lopes, Rita Blanco, Beatriz Batarda, Fernando Luís, Cleia Almeida
- Genre Drama
- Available on Fandor Amazon Channel
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
(Tropa de Elite 2)
Accused of murdering prisoners during a riot, a lieutenant and his second in command are swept into a bloody political dispute.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2010
- Director José Padilha
- Cast Wagner Moura, Irandhir Santos, André Ramiro, Pedro Van-Held, Maria Ribeiro, Sandro Rocha
- Genre Action, Crime, Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Our Beloved Month of August
(Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto)
During the month of August, a town in the heart of Portugal is abuzz with people and activity.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Portugal, France • 2008
- Director Miguel Gomes
- Cast Sónia Bandeira, Fábio Oliveira, Manuel Soares, Joaquim Carvalho, Andreia Santos, Miguel Gomes
- Genre Music, Romance
- Available on DocAlliance Films, Kanopy
Sleepwalking Land
(Terra Sonâmbula)
An orphan wonders the countryside in search of his mother in the midst of Mozambique's devastating civil war.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mozambique, Portugal • 2007
- Director Teresa Prata
- Cast Ernesto Lemos Macuacua, Aladino Jasse, Filimone Meigos, Tânia Adelino, Erónia Malate, Alan Cristina Salazar
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Video
Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures
(Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus)
An aspirin salesman and a rural Brazilian meet in the middle of Northeastern Brazil in 1942.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2005
- Director Marcelo Gomes
- Cast João Miguel, Peter Ketnath, Madalena Accioly, Jeane Alves, Veronica Cavalcanti, Jorge Clésio
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Video
The Hero
(O Herói)
Four different people struggle to live their lives in the aftermath of Angola's civil war.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Angola, France, Portugal • 2004
- Director Zézé Gamboa
- Cast Makena Diop, Milton Coelho, Patrícia Bull, Gracy Costa, Maria Ceiça, Neuza Borges
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kanopy
City of God
(Cidade de Deus)
Three young men embark on different yet intertwined paths as they try to survive in the dangerous favelas of Rio.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil, France • 2002
- Director Fernando Meirelles
- Cast Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen, Matheus Nachtergaele
- Genre Drama, Crime
- Available on Showtime Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Black Orpheus
(Orfeu Negro)
A retelling of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice that introduced Bossa Nova to the world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil, France, Italy • 1959
- Director Marcel Camus
- Cast Breno Mello, Marpessa Dawn, Marcel Camus, Fausto Guerzoni, Lourdes de Oliveira, Léa Garcia
- Genre Drama, Fantasy, Music, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Kanopy