简介：BasedononeofthemostimportantandpopularworksofPortugueseliterature,DoomedLovewasrecentlyrevealedtoNorthAmericanaudiencesasoneofdeOliveira’sgreatestworks.CloselyfollowingCamiloCasteloBranco’seponymousnovelfrom1862,deOliveiracreatesaradicalandunprecedentedfusionoftheatre,literatureandcinema,which,accordingtoJonathanRosenbaum,isrivaledonlybyvonStroheim’sGreed.Inthisdolefultaleofforbiddenpassion,thedoomedloveofthetitlebelongstoTeresaAlbuquerqueandSimãoBotelho,whosefeudingaristocraticfamiliespavethewayforadeadlyménage-à-troiswhenanotherwomanstepsintotakeTeresa’splace.DeOliveiracreditsStraub-Huillet’sChronicleofAnnaMagdalenaBachasoneofthemajorinfluencesonthefilm,whichistoldthroughaboldseriesoftableauxvivants.Liketheotherworksinhis“Tetralogy,”DoomedLovemakesgreatuseofomniscientnarrationandahostofdistancingeffects(staticcamera,lackofclose-ups),“paringthingsdowntotheunspectacular,sothatwhensomethingdramaticdoesflareup...theresultistremendous”(ElliottStein).Thefilmwasoriginallyshoton16mmandmadeforPortugueseTVwhereitunsurprisinglyflounderedandwassubjectedtoscorn.Butitsmythicstatusgrewandwhena35mmblow-upwastheatricallyreleasedsometimelater,thisfilmmauditwashailedasaEuropeanmasterpiece,ensuringthatdeOliveirawas“recognizedasoneofthegreatmodernfilmmakers”(RandalJohnson).NocinephilecanaffordtomissthisdatewithDoomedLove.(CinemathequeOntario)…