An economic crisis hits Portugal just before Joaquim is set to retire. His life now revolves around appointments at the employment office, looking for work and going to job interviews. His hair gelled into a perfect Elvis quiff and sporting colourful patterned shirts, he nonchalantly goes from one interview to the next, from one company to the other – knowing perfectly well that he will never be part of the working population again. But papers must be stamped in order to prove his efforts to the employment office. Captured in brightly-lit images on 16 mm film, his journeys take him past closed factories and through abandoned industrial areas. Reflexions on time and everyday life interweave biographical details with fragments of Portugal’s recent history. Joaquim’s stories conjure up a map of memories and chart his experiences as a taxi driver in 1970s New York, evoking dreamlike images of an eventful life in a vibrant city. (mch)
Credits
Script and Director: Susana Nobre
Direction Assistant: Diogo Allen
Cinematography: Paulo Menezes aip
Sound: João Gazua
Art Direction: Nádia Henriques
Editing: João Rosas, Susana Nobre
With: Armindo Martins Rato, Maria Carvalho, Joaquim Veríssimo Calçada
Intro
THE FLIGHT OF THE SWALLOW AND OTHER SOMNAMBULISTIC WANDERINGS
(A read aloud reflection on allegorical and poetic representations of the
Portuguese migratory flows of the 60s and 70s)
