Film Scouts Reviews: Viagem ao princípio do mundo

"Viagem ao princípio do mundo (Voyage to the Beginning of the World)"

by Kathleen Carroll

Marcello Mastroianni plays an elderly director, reliving his Portuguese childhood, in this slow, deliberate film. His glum statements about the ravages of old age clearly represent the thoughts of the film's venerable director - Portugal's Manoel de Oliveira. There's also an inescapable sadness about Mastroianni himself, for his shockingly frail condition seems to confirm what we know now - that he would not live much longer. In what would be his final screen appearance, the beloved Italian actor proves to be a valiant trouper. He has two sudden bursts of playfulness - one in which he simply crosses his eyes - as he knew he better clown around a bit just to liven up this delicate film about the loneliness of life.

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