''Bad Living'' ( pt, Mal viver) is a 2023 Portuguese-French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

João Canijo João Canijo (born 1957) is a Portuguese film director. His film '' Get a Life'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. His 2011 film '' Blood of My Blood'' was selected as the Portuguese entry for the B ...

. Starring Anabela Moreira and

Rita Blanco Rita Blanco (born 11 January 1963) is a Portuguese actress. She has appeared in more than 50 films and television shows since 1983. She starred in the film '' Get a Life'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Fi ...

, the film portrays story of a family of several women from different generations, whose relationships with each other have grown poisoned by bitterness. It was selected to compete for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...

at the

73rd Berlin International Film Festival The 73rd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale (), took place from 16 to 26 February 2023. It was the first completely in-person Berlinale since the 70th in 2020. The festival has added a new award for best te ...

, where it had its world premiere on 22 February 2023. It won Silver Bear Jury Prize at the festival. At the same time, the director has made another film, ''

Living Bad ''Living Bad'' ( pt, Viver Mal) is a 2023 Portuguese-French drama film directed by João Canijo. For his screenplay about the hotel guests, he was inspired by motifs from three plays by August Strindberg. Starring Nuno Lopes and Leonor Silveira, ...

'', in which the main focus is on guests coming to hotel. In his statement the director said that for the screenplay about the hotel guests, he was inspired by motifs from plays by

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

. ''

'' was selected at the

in Encounter.

Synopsis

A group of women from different generations of the same family is running a hotel by the Portuguese northern shore. Their relationships with each other have gone sour and they are trying to survive in the declining hotel. Then an unexpected arrival of a granddaughter stirs trouble, as the latent hatred and piled-up resentments comes to fore.

Cast

* Anabela Moreira as Piedade *

as Sara * Madalena Almeida as Salome * Cleia Almeida as Raquel * Vera Barreto as Angela *

Nuno Lopes Nuno Miguel Pereira Lopes (born 6 May 1978) is a Portuguese actor and DJ. He's internationally known for his role in ''Saint George'', the Portuguese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, and most recently for his ...

as Jaime * Filipa Areosa as Camila *

Leonor Silveira Leonor da Silveira Moreno e Lemos Gomes (born 28 October 1970) is a Portuguese film actress who made her film debut in '' The Cannibals'' for director Manoel de Oliveira in 1988. She appeared in most of Oliveira's subsequent films. She is the d ...

as Elisa *

Rafael Morais Rafael Morais is an actor. He studied theater in Lisbon, Portugal and at the Stella Adler Academy in Los Angeles. Rafael Morais has worked with globally celebrated filmmakers such as Nick Hamm, Marco Martins, Luis Prieto, João Canijo, Tiago G ...

as Alex * Lia Carvalho as Graça * Beatriz Batarda as Judite * Carolina Amaral as Alice * Leonor Vasconselos as Julia

Production

The film was shot over a 12-week period in early 2021 at the Hotel Parque do Rio in Praia de Ofir. At the same time, ''

'' , a second film was made, that focuses on the guests of the hotel. According to a producer of the film, the sound and content are said to be "two completely different films". "One becomes more interesting when you see the other," explained the producer Pedro Borges.

Release

The film had its World premiere at the

on 22 February 2023. It is slated for theatrical release in Portugal on 11 May 2023.

Reception

On the review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

website, the film has an approval rating of 60% based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. Nicholas Bell in IonCinema.com graded the film 4/5 and wrote, "But this is inherently the essence of ''Bad Living'', concerning a handful of humans making decisions which actively poison them slowly, until someone invariably can’t take it any more." Leslie Felperin of

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

calling the film "Bad to the bone" wrote, "Punishingly slow, grandiloquently depressing and ultimately not even especially convincing psychologically, ''Bad Living'' feels like the work of people who sincerely believed they were making great art." Felperin added, "Sadly, they were mistaken." Lee Marshall for

ScreenDaily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

wrote in review, "A haunting work with a ritualistic feel, as if its five central characters have been possessed by the souls of some ancient Greek theatre troupe."

Accolades

References

External links

* *
''Bad Living''
at Berlinale * {{Rottentomatoes 2023 films Films directed by João Canijo 2023 drama films Portuguese drama films French drama films Films shot in Portugal 2020s Portuguese-language films