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Product Description A tale of an obsessive love affair, Manoel de Oliveira's Francisca is based on a novel by Agustina Bessa-Luís, whose work he'd later adapt twice more. The book's re-telling of a troubled passage in real-life author Camilo Castelo Branco life (his friend José Augusto embarked on a perverse game of marital cat and mouse with Francisca, the woman the novelist loved) led Oliveira to new levels of stylistic and formal imagination. (It helped that his wife, a distant relative of the historical Francisca, gave him access to a cache of the woman's letters.) With its elaborate title cards, its abundance of shots in which the action is oriented directly toward the camera, its gloomy interiors, and its show-stopping gala set-pieces, Francisca is an exacting, sumptuous and utterly inimitable cinematic experience, and one of Oliveira's crowning achievements. Review A two-hour-and-45-minute tour de force. A drolly funny, ravishingly beautiful and daringly stylized feast of a movie. Reemerging in a year many of us would love to forget, it's a work of art to remember. --Justin Chang, LA Times Francisca is both classical and postmodern, a cross between a lush Visconti period piece and the stylized expressionism of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. One of cinema titan Manoel de Oliveira's greatest films. --J. Hoberman, The New York Times A masterpiece of modern cinema. A story of great subtlety, density, and emotional impact. It is as if Jean-Marie Straub has collaborated with Max Ophüls. --Dave Kehr, When Movies Mattered

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This film from master filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira, the Strange Case of Angelica is a magical tale of a young photographer who falls madly in love with a woman he can never have, except in his dreams. Late one night, Isaac is summoned by a wealthy family to take the last photograph of a young bride, Angelica, who mysteriously passed away. Arriving at their estate, Isaac is struck by Angelica's beauty. But when he looks through his lens, the young woman appears to come to life. From that moment, Isaac will be haunted by Angelica day and night. Review "A magical masterpiece." --Kevin Thomas, LA Times "A gift from a filmmaker who, at 101 years old, is nearly as old as cinema itself." --Manohla Dargis "The best film of 2010. A sublimely autumnal comic masterpiece." --J. Hoberman, Village Voice