View source for The Convent (1995 film)

{{Infobox film
| name           = The Convent (O Convento)
| image          = Manuel_03_convento.jpg
| caption        =
| director       = [[Manoel de Oliveira]]
| based_on       = ''As terras do risco'' by [[Agustina Bessa-Luís]]
| producer       = [[Paulo Branco]]
| writer         = Manoel de Oliveira
| starring       = [[Catherine Deneuve]]<br>[[John Malkovich]]
| music          = [[Sofia Gubaidulina]] [[Igor Stravinsky]] [[Toshiro Mayuzumi]]
| cinematography = [[Mario Barroso]]
| editing        =
| distributor    = Atalanta Filmes
| released       = {{Film date|1995}}
| runtime        = 90 minutes
| country        = Portugal<br>France
| language       = [[French language|French]]<br>English<br>[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
| budget         = $4,300,000
| gross          = $367,585<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=4124|title=Convento O (1995) - JPBox-Office}}</ref>
}}
'''''The Convent''''' ({{langx|pt|'''O Convento'''}}) is a 1995 film by Portuguese director [[Manoel de Oliveira]], starring [[Catherine Deneuve]] and [[John Malkovich]] and is inspired by an original idea by [[Agustina Bessa-Luís]] in her novel ''[[As terras do risco]]''. It was entered into the main competition of the [[1995 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/3374/year/1995.html |title=Festival de Cannes: The Convent |accessdate=2009-09-05|work=festival-cannes.com}}</ref>
==Plot==
The film opens when a Paris-based American professor Michael Padovic and his elegant French wife Hélène arrive at an ancient Portuguese [[convent]] in Arrábida where he believes the documents needed to prove his theory might be in its archives: [[Shakespeare]] was born in Spain named Jacques Perez, and was Jewish.
The couple is greeted by an enigmatic stranger who refers to himself as Baltar; he is the guardian of the monastery. Baltar introduced them to Berta, the housekeeper and his assistant Baltazar. For his research work, Padovic spends most of his days in the library with the beautiful librarian Piedade, while Hélène is accompanied by Baltar who eventually professes his love towards the elegant lady.
As the tension increases to its dramatic climax, the film ends with an epilogue in the form of on-screen text from a fisherman's report. Baltar and Piedade went missing after a forest fire; Michael and Hélène "left immediately" and are leading a normal life in Paris; Michael abandoned his research on Jacques Perez and is studying [[Occult|occult sciences]] instead. It nevertheless warns the audience that the fisherman's report might not be reliable.
==Cast==
* [[Catherine Deneuve]] as Hélène
* [[John Malkovich]] as Michael Padovic
* [[Luís Miguel Cintra]] as Baltar
* [[Leonor Silveira]] as Piedade
* [[Duarte de Almeida]] as Baltazar
* [[Heloísa Miranda]] as Berta
* [[Gilberto Gonçalves]] as Fisherman
== Music ==
The film centers at the question of Evil vs Good and Devil vs God. Essential to the brooding atmosphere is Oliveira's choice of music by [[Sofia Gubaidulina]] (''[[Offertorium (Gubaidulina)|Offertorium]], Sieben Worte''), and portions of [[Igor Stravinsky]]’s “''The Rake’s Progress''” and [[Toshiro Mayuzumi]]’s “''Prelude, for String Quartet''.”
==Reception==
In Portugal, the film was the most popular Portuguese film in 1995 with admissions of 35,000.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Screen International]]|title=Portugal 1995 Domestic Top 10|page=25|date=5 April 1996}}</ref> It received positive reviews in the U.S. from [[Los Angeles Times]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Kevin |date=1995-12-01 |title=MOVIE REVIEW : 'The Convent' a Sly, Beguiling Fable |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-01-ca-9161-story.html |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> [[The New York Times|New York Times]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Holden |first=Stephen |date=1995-10-07 |title=FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW;Quirkily Searching For Satan |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/07/movies/film-festival-review-quirkily-searching-for-satan.html |access-date=2023-03-18 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and [[Chicago Reader]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Camper |first=Fred |date=1985-10-26 |title=The Convent |url=http://chicagoreader.com/film/the-convent-2/ |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Chicago Reader |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0112716|The Convent (O Convento)}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|1070236_convent}}
{{Manoel de Oliveira}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Convent, The}}
[[Category:1995 films]]
[[Category:Portuguese thriller films]]
[[Category:French thriller films]]
[[Category:Films based on Portuguese novels]]
[[Category:Films based on thriller novels]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Agustina Bessa-Luís]]
[[Category:Films directed by Manoel de Oliveira]]
[[Category:Films produced by Paulo Branco]]
[[Category:English-language French films]]
[[Category:English-language Portuguese films]]
[[Category:1995 thriller films]]
[[Category:1995 drama films]]
[[Category:Films shot in Portugal]]
[[Category:1990s French films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Toshiro Mayuzumi]]
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