A wealthy landowner, "The Dauphin," enjoys a decadent life of hunting, drinking, and womanizing. He oversees his estate, the Laguna, with his barren wife, his one-armed manservant, and his treasured guard dog. When a sportsman (the film’s narrator) comes to the estate for his annual duck-hunting excursion, he discovers the body of the landowner’s wife floating in the lagoon and the manservant dead on his master’s bed. The Dauphin and his dog are nowhere to be found except for the mysterious barking sounds heard over the lagoon.
Cinematography
Lagoon as mirror of moral rot — every frame drips humidity.
Acting
Rogério Samora's predator charm masks abyss.
Sound
Off-screen barking builds unbearable tension.
Director
Fernando Lopes
Rogério Samora
Palma Bravo
Alexandra Lencastre
Maria das Mercês
Isabel Ruth
Aninhas
Milton Lopes
Domingos
Miguel Guilherme
Padre Novo
Rita Loureiro
Mulher Jovem
José Pinto
Cauteleiro
Márcia Breia
Dona da Pensão
Alexandre de Sousa
Regedor
Laura Soveral
Camponesa
Sofia Bénard da Costa
Criada da Pensão
Joaquim Leitão
Ex-combatente
Paula Guedes
Virgínia
Fernando Heitor
barman
Rui Morisson
Caçador/Narrador
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Fernando Lopes adapted this from José Cardoso Pires' novel, itself based on a real 1940s Portuguese murder case that scandalized the rural elite.
The 'Dauphin' title deliberately evokes French aristocracy — Lopes weaponizes the nickname to mock Portuguese fascist-era landowners who cosplayed nobility while their estates crumbled.
PT
