A rich, beautiful woman trapped in her own skin—and a fascist Portugal.
Pele is a film about a young mulatto woman that in spite of being rich, beautiful and intelligent, feels discriminated because of the colour of her skin. The entire plot is in the early 70's, when Portugal had a dictatorial government, ultramarine territories and lots of racism in its society… Issues like racism, female condition and the spoilt lives of the high-society are the main themes of this movie
Acting
Daniela Costa's restrained devastation—every glance betrays.
Production
70s Lisbon opulence rotting from within, frame by frame.
Director
Fernando Vendrell
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released when Portugal was still unpacking its colonial amnesia; Caetano's dictatorship had ended only 32 years prior.
Vendrell shot in actual Salazar-era mansions, but the real production challenge was finding Portuguese actors willing to perform racist dialogue on camera.
PT
