PANORÂMICA DA CRÓNICA DE COSTUMES N’OS MAIAS: um romance cinematográfico contemporâneo

The Portuguese filmmaker João Botelho stands out for his keen insight into the literary nature of the text and for his cinematic adaptations of canonical Portuguese literary works. The film Os Maias is based on the portrayal of Portugal – a common genre in Portuguese cinema. In this filmic work, the social, cultural, political, and identity characteristics of nineteenth-century society are stamped, and the customs of the upper class are denounced through sharp criticism and ironic depiction. The dissection of Portugal through its neural center, Lisbon, while faithful to the literary work, is to some extent an outdated autopsy, as the country has gained new contours. So, the work harks back to a corpse from the Romantic period, whose appearance diverges from hypermodern times.