A Talking Picture

Overview

A meditation on civilization. July, 2001: friends wave as a cruise ship departs Lisbon for Mediterranean ports and the Indian Ocean. On board and on day trips in Marseilles, Pompeii, Athens, Istanbul, and Cairo, a professor tells her young daughter about myth, history, religion, and wars. Men approach her; she's cool, on her way to her husband in Bombay. After Cairo, for two evenings divided by a stop in Aden, the captain charms three successful, famous (and childless) women, who talk with wit and intellect, each understanding the others' native tongue, a European union. The captain asks mother and child to join them. He gives the girl a gift. Helena sings. Life can be sweet.

Cast

Leonor Silveira

Rosa Maria

Filipa de Almeida

Maria Joana

John Malkovich

Comandante John Walesa

Catherine Deneuve

Delfina

Stefania Sandrelli

Francesca

Irene Papas

Helena

Luis Miguel Cintra

Himself

Ricardo Trêpa

Oficial

Júlia Buisel

Amiga de Delfina

David Cardoso