The Portuguese House
A gentle, elegant drama about a professor abandoned by his wife who, on a whim, assumes the identity of a deceased gardener and takes up a position at a beautiful country house in the Portuguese countryside.
Fernando, a quiet geography teacher, is devastated when one morning, without warning or explanation, his wife packs her things and leaves their home in Barcelona to return to her native Serbia. Heartbroken and confused, Fernando decides to take a break from teaching and travel to the northwest of Portugal, where he ends up assuming the identity of a gardener who is due to take up a job at a gorgeous old country house on an almond grove. There, he strikes up a friendship with the owner, Amália, who’s not as easily deceived by Fernando’s deception as he thinks she is.
Gentle, contemplative and profoundly empathetic, The Portuguese House considers questions of what constitutes identity and the ways we construct our own realities. It’s led by heartfelt performances from Manolo Solo and Maria de Medeiros, telling a story of second chances, reinvention and the restorative power of embracing a daily life that moves at a slower pace, with a stronger connection to the land.