''José and Pilar'' () is a Portuguese documentary directed by

Miguel Gonçalves Mendes Miguel Gonçalves Mendes (born September 2, 1978 in Covilhã) is a Portuguese film director, screenwriter and producer. He is the author of '' José and Pilar'' (2010), a documentary about writer and Nobel Prize winner José Saramago, co-produced ...

following the last years of the Nobel Prize winner

José Saramago José de Sousa Saramago, GColSE ComSE GColCa (; 16 November 1922 – 18 June 2010), was a Portuguese writer and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony ith which heco ...

, chiefly through his relationship with his devoted wife,

Pilar del Río María del Pilar del Río Sánchez (born March 15, 1950) is a Spanish journalist, writer and translator. She is the president of José Saramago Foundation. Biography Pilar del Río was born in Castril ( Granada) in 1950, to Antonio and Carm ...

. Highly praised by the critics and the audience, the film succeeds in portraying the tenderness, the genuine integrity and the deep humanity between the controversial writer and his wife. It gathers sequences from

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. It includes sequences life in

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the i ...

, and during trips around the world (presenting José's books, signing autographs, making speeches) as well as their simple, transient and quotidian moments during the period José writes his "

The Elephant's Journey ''The Elephant's Journey'' ( pt, A Viagem do Elefante) is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago. It was first published in 2008 with an English translation in 2010. Plot In 1551, King João III of Portugal gave Archduke Maxim ...

". The film was produced by Miguel Mendes' JumpCut (Portugal), Fernando Meirelles's O2 and

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narr ...

El Deseo El Deseo (also known as El Deseo S.A.) is a film production company owned by Spanish film producers the Almodóvar brothers (Pedro and Agustín). The company has financed all the films directed by Pedro starting from The Law of Desire in 198 ...

Plot

"The Elephant's Journey", in which Saramago narrates the adventures and antics of an elephant transported from the court of King John III of Portugal to that of the Austrian Archduke Maximillian, is the starting point of ''José and Pilar''. The film shows us their daily life in Lanzarote and their trips around the globe, and is a surprising portrayal of an author throughout the creative process of a couple who decide to change the world, or at least to make it a better place. The film shows us an unknown Saramago, unravels any preconceived ideas we may have about the man and demonstrates that genius and simplicity can indeed be compatible. ''José and Pilar'' is a glimpse into one of the greatest creators of the Twentieth Century and shows us that, as Saramago said, "everything can be told in a different way."

Cast

, writer (Nobel Prize winner in Literary, 1998). *

, journalist. *

Gael García Bernal Gael García Bernal (; born 30 November 1978) is a Mexican actor and producer. He is best known for his performances in the films '' Bad Education'', '' The Motorcycle Diaries'', '' Amores perros'', ''Y tu mamá también'', ''Babel'', '' Coco'', ...

, actor. * Fernando Meirelles, filmmaker.

Accomplishments and nominations

* Was shown in the Portuguese theaters for five months, an historical record. * First Portuguese film co-produced with internationally highly ranked film production companies (O2 and El Deseio). * First Portuguese film to open the International Documentary Film Festival of Lisbon (DocLisboa) (2010). * The Portuguese film with widest distribution and largest audience ever to premiere in Brazil. * One of the greatest word-to-mouth successes of the 2010 Rio de Janeiro Film Festival (world premiere), among three hundred other films. * Opened the Ronda International Political Cinema Film Festival, introduced by the judge

Baltasar Garzón Baltasar Garzón Real (; born 26 October 1955) is a former Spanish judge. Garzón formerly served on Spain's central criminal court, the ''Audiencia Nacional'', and was the examining magistrate of the ''Juzgado Central de Instrucción No. 5'', ...

. * 1300 people attended the Spanish premiere, in Madrid, on 17 January. hat year?* Shown at the Guadalajara International Film Festival, one of the most prestigious film festivals in Latin America (out of competition). * Winner of the Audience Award in the São Paulo Film Festival. * Nominated by the Portuguese Authors Society for Best Film (2011). * Best Film of the year by

Visão ''Visão'' is a Portuguese news magazine published weekly in Lisbon, Portugal. History and profile ''Visão'' was first published on 25 March 1993. The magazine is the successor to the weekly newspaper ''O Jornal'' which was published between 197 ...

and top 5 Best Films by '' Time Out'' Portugal. * Nominated for Best Film, Best Editing and Best Soundtrack by the Brazilian Academy of Cinema. * Portuguese submission for a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.

Press

* " (...) it's so carefully constructed that at times it feels like fiction, shuttling easily and with a surprising level of intimacy between Saramago, the public persona, and Saramago, the private man." in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' (USA). * "The film portrays Jose's clearheaded pessimism in his quests for human rights." in ''

Cahiers du cinéma ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...

'' (Spain). * "An amazing film about the love that tied them together amid the exhausting daily routine of a public figure." in ''

Diário de Notícias ''Diário de Notícias'' () is a Portuguese daily newspaper published in Lisbon, Portugal. Established since 1864, the paper is considered a newspaper of record for Portugal. History and profile ''Diário de Notícias'' was first published in ...

'' (Portugal). * "José and Pilar is a documentary, but a documentary that dissolves the illusion of the pure documentary. The end of a cicle. A monument to the glory of a writer." in '' Público'' (Portugal). * "Miguel Gonçalves Mendes took four years to make this documentary but watching it makes us realize it will last for much longer." in ''

Expresso Expresso may refer to: * Espresso, a coffee beverage * eXpresso, a hosted workspace for Microsoft Office communities * Expresso (Donkey Kong), a character in the ''Donkey Kong Country'' series * ''Expresso'' (newspaper), based in Lisbon, Portug ...

'' (Portugal) * "(...) a documentary about a unique relationship (...) you don't even have to be fond of José Saramago, his books or share his ideology to like José and Pilar." in '' Time Out'' (Portugal).

References

External links