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Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Luminous Life' Review: A Breezy and Melancholic Portrait of a Portuguese Zoomer Looking for Love, Plus a Steady Job
Films about 20-something characters drifting aimlessly through life have a tendency to drift themselves, but that can also be part of their charm. Not every movie needs to be a nail-biter, and not every plot needs to be engineered like a Maserati. Some of the best examples of the genre — Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise, Frances Ha, Fellini's I Vitelloni — convey that feeling of endless drifting while remaining altogether captivating. In a sense, the drift becomes the crux of the story. Nicolau (Francisco Melo), the shy and shaggy protagonist at the heart of Joao Rosas' debut feature, The Luminous Life (A Vida Luminosa), feels like the quintessential drifter of our time — or at least as such a time exists in a contemporary western European capital. Lovesick and forever looking for gainful employment, he wanders around Lisbon in search of something he can't quite name or put his hands on. Maybe it's hope? Or a viable career? Or a new girlfriend? Whatever it is, he doesn't seem very motivated to find it, yet his meandering quest manages to intrigue all the same. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Broken Voices' Review: A Girl's Dreams Are Shattered by Sexual Predation in an Artful Drama From the Czech Republic Karlovy Vary: 'Sentimental Value' Star Stellan Skarsgård Will Record THR's 'Awards Chatter' Pod in Front of Fest Audience 'When a River Becomes the Sea': An Archaeologist Digs Deep to Uncover and Confront Sexual Trauma Both breezy and melancholic, the film reveals hints of Eric Rohmer with its series of random romantic encounters — including one in which Nicolau crosses paths with a French girl, Chloé (Cécile Matignon), who becomes a love interest. But it also bears the forlorn aimlessness of Robert Bresson's Four Nights of a Dreamer, going so far as to cite Bresson's writings during a sequence set at the Cinemateca Portugesa. Although French cinema may be the inspiration behind much of The Luminous Life, the film feels Portuguese through and through, blending a dreamy sadness with moments of surreal comedy and sensuality, not unlike the work of late auteur Joao Cesar Monteiro. Still living with his parents when the movie starts, and still attached to a girl he broke up with a year ago, Nicolau doesn't seem to have any real goals except, perhaps, getting out of his rut. 'You're letting life pass you by,' someone warns him, to which he replies: 'I just can't see myself doing anything.' He manages to get a two-week temp job counting bike riders on city streets, lands an interview at a fancy advertising firm, and finally winds up working at a stationary store, where he's obliged to dress as Santa Claus in the middle of spring. In his spare time, he plays bass in a band that never seems to get along, putting a damper on a music career that he hasn't taken too seriously, anyway. It's not much to build a film on, but Rosas sustains our interest through the sincerity of the encounters we witness, most of which involve Nicolau hanging out with women his age — women who, for the most part, are a lot more focused and career-oriented than he is. They're attracted by his good looks and laid-back charms, but also aware of the fact he isn't going anywhere. At some point we start wondering whether Nicolau's ex felt the same way, moving on in life while her boyfriend was still figuring out what to do with his. To complicate matters, we also learn that Nicolau's hardworking dad is being cheated on, making his son question the value of a sustainable job if it ultimately ruins your marriage. The director and cinematographer Paulo Menezes capture these queries in colorful vignettes set against an urban backdrop that never feels touristy. We see the city as it exists for regular people — and hear it through sound design that amplifies the quotidian movement of cars, buses, trams and bicycles. When there is music, it comes from Nicolau's band as they rehearse numbers that channel the mood of the lead character and the movie itself: relaxed, thoughtful, a bit pop and a bit aloof. The plot thickens in the closing reels when Nicolau drifts closer to Chloé, who's in town writing a thesis on cemeteries entitled 'The Architecture of Death' — a subject that seems diametrically opposed to her free-spirited, sensual demeanor. Is it possible Nicolau has finally found the love he's been searching for? The answer could be yes, but Rosas also suggests that he may be repeating the same mistakes from before. If there's perhaps any moral to this wistful journey toward nowhere, it's that the only luminous life worth living is the one you've built for yourself, once you figure out what that is. Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Joao Rosas Creates His Very Own Map of Lisbon in ‘The Luminous Life' – and Makes a Case for Cinema as an ‘Act of Kindness'
In 'The Luminous Life,' Portuguese director João Rosas shows off his hometown Lisbon – but chances are, you won't recognize it. 'It's sentimental cartography: tourists don't know these places, but they are important to me and to other people in the film. I wanted to show another side of the city: this is where we actually live. But if after seeing the film, someone decides to visit them, you are welcome to do it!' More from Variety Dakota Johnson Is Getting Ready to Shoot Directorial Feature Debut, Says She Wants to Play a 'Psychopath,' 'Can't Waste Time on Toxic Sets Anymore' Michael Douglas Has 'No Intention' of Returning to Acting, Says U.S. Idealism 'Does Not Exist Now': 'People Are Going Into Politics to Make Money' Peter Sarsgaard on Speaking Out on 'Divided' U.S.: 'You Can Tell I Didn't Vote for Trump' For now, secret spots and sunny alleys are claimed by his protagonist Nicolau, in his 20s and directionless after a devastating breakup. Nicolau isn't in the mood for anything, really, and questions his future as a musician. But he's still surrounded by kindness. 'This kindness was already present in my previous films, but in this one in particular,' says Rosas ahead of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival premiere. 'I think it's important nowadays, in the context of the world we're living in, to enhance this kindness towards each other, our friends and strangers we pass by on the streets. Cinema, for me, is an act of kindness.' Eager to work with non-actors – Rosas followed 'Nicolau' in his previous films, too – he likes to keep things simple. 'Goethe would talk about Classic or Baroque periods. I think we're living in very Baroque times – I mean, just look at Trump – but I'm all about Classic. I focus on what's essential,' he laughs. 'The best way of achieving that is making sure people can connect to your characters. Even though it's a very specific social context, white middle-class in a European country, it talks of very universal feelings or stages in life.' He reveals: 'Even during auditions I'm more interested in getting to know everybody. They tell me how they view life and how they inhabit the city, where they go, what they do. I'm just like Nicolau – I'm just there, listening. But the city – that's always my starting point. I don't have a car, so I just cycle and walk. I look at people in Lisbon and turn them into my characters.' Everyone feels a bit lost in their 20s. But in 'The Luminous Life,' things don't get much easier later on, either. 'That was one of the main challenges: How to portray this moment when you are looking for your own path in life? Then again, it's an ongoing process. All our lives, we're asking ourselves what to do next and who we are.' Just like Nicolau's father, a man who used to have all the answers – until his wife left him. 'Suddenly, their roles change – he turns into a man who confesses to his son that he's not doing well. This exchange will allow Nicolau to leave the old ghost of his relationship behind.' Confusion and uncertainty, while heartbreaking, can also be funny, stresses Rosas, rejecting the idea of Portuguese saudade, a feeling of sadness and melancholy often described by writers. 'It's a narrative I just don't agree with. I'm not a sad person and I don't see it around me. It's a construction based on some touristic and maybe also political values, trying to explain 'what it means to be Portuguese.' My country can be sad, in a way that poor or post-dictatorship countries can be. But this sadness as a characteristic of people or the city… It's not something I'm interested in.' He adds: 'I was thinking about Woody Allen, Nanni Moretti. In their films, you can look at problems that are valid and complex, sure, but find a comedic side to it. Life is doubt. Life is questioning. But I didn't want to take things too seriously.' What he did want, however, was to make a 'talkative' film and revel in long discussions about love, work and future. 'Cinema, or art, can offer you the luxury of time. You can distance yourself from this daily urban routine where you don't have time to be with friends, talk or think. Nicolau is passive, but that also makes him a kind character. He's surrounded by young women and he's not trying to conquer them. He's absorbing their knowledge. I can't stress this enough – It's so important to listen to others and the stories they carry around the city.' 'I don't want to sound too pretentious, but this idea of sharing is very important to me. When I make films, I work with other people – I'm also thinking about other people who are going to see them. I like arthouse films and I'm, I guess, an arthouse director, but I never forget cinema was born as popular art.' 'The Luminous Life' was produced by Pedro Borges for Midas Filmes and co-produced by Les Films de L'Après-Midi. Loco Films handles sales. Best of Variety Oscars 2026: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Roberts, Wagner Moura and More Among Early Contenders to Watch New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
