Werner Schroeter directed this dark and surreal tale of a man determined to save a lost lover from a grim fate at the hands of a violent mob. The city of Santa Maria is falling into chaos as an armed military faction is poised to take power in a coup d'etat. Ossorio used to call Santa Maria home, and he has returned in its darkest hour to find the woman he loves, hoping to rescue her from the violence that is lurks around the corner. As Ossorio searches for his love, he meets Victoria in a shabby hotel, who in turn introduces him to her father Barcala, who for the right price is willing to take Ossorio and another passenger away on his boat. While Ossorio is willing to pay Barcala what he wants, can he find the mysterious woman before the ship sets sail?
Direction
Schroeter's baroque excess turns every frame into stained glass
Acting
Greggory's hollow-eyed desperation carries impossible weight
Director
Werner Schroeter
Pascal Greggory
Ossorio
Bruno Todeschini
Morasan
Amira Casar
Irène
Éric Caravaca
Villar
Nathalie Delon
Risso
Jean-François Stévenin
Martins
Laura Soveral
Rosaria's mother
Filipe Duarte
Júlio
Teresa Tavares
Girl with a joint
Simão Cayatte
Sailor
Nuno Lopes
Aboud
Bulle Ogier
Doña Inês
Patrícia Bull
Cleaning lady
Adelaide Teixeira
Neighbor
Pedro Frias
Taxi driver
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Schroeter shot this in Argentina during a period of intense personal illness; he died later that same year, making this his swan song of beautiful ruin.
The film deliberately echoes Latin American dictatorship cinema but filters it through European operatic sensibility—imagine if Visconti directed a missing-person poster.
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