Concerns an Irish woman, Cathy (Pauline Cadell), who dearly loves her Portuguese lawyer husband, Pedro (Rui Morisson); however, unbeknownst to her, he engages in one tryst after another. Cathy soon finds herself trying to help a young delinquent get off heroin, while the youth's desperate mother joins a weird religious cult. In other segments, an elderly man is nearly driven mad with grief at the loss of his granddaughter in a train station, while a down-and-out jeweler ushers the young girl to a hotel room.
Acting
Pauline Cadell's slow-burn devastation carries the film.
Direction
Santos weaves four stories with cruel precision.
Director
Alberto Seixas Santos
Alexandre Pinto
Daniel
Lia Gama
Emília, Daniel's mother
Zita Duarte
Assunção
Sofia Aparício
tv star
Luís Esparteiro
Luis Vincente
Sofia Leite
Marianada Luz, Pedro's sister
Rui Luís
Lorry driver
Carla Chambel
Jeweller's girl
Pedro Efe
Guard
Maria João Luís
Voice of Cathy (voice)
Sylvie Rocha
Voice of Marta (voice)
Rui Morisson
Pedro
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of Portugal's 'Novo Cinema' movement exploring working-class Lisbon with unflinching social realism.
The title's Portuguese original 'Mal' carries dual meaning—both 'bad' and 'evil'—suggesting systemic moral failure beyond individual sin.
PT
