Tabu

Aurora, an old woman, her Capeverdean housekeeper, and Pilar, all live in the same house in Lisbon. When the old woman dies, the other two learn a secret from Aurora's past. Miguel Gomes's film is an open deference to Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's silent movie “Tabu” and was celebrated at the Berlinale, where it received the Alfred Bauer Prize. "What’s most remarkable about Gomes’ achievement is how he’s uncovered the genuine, yearning emotion within a fairly standard colonials-in-Africa romance, stripping it of the usual meller trappings to find the kind of love poets write about." (Variety) "This film is unforgettable and gripping and masterful, one should use big words, because, for once, they are deserved." (Die Zeit)

Keywords

  • Arthouse
  • Award Winning
  • Love
  • Malena Filmus' Picks
  • Philippe Grégoire
  • Storyline: True Romance
  • Africa
  • Aging
  • mourning
  • travel

Actors

  • Teresa Madruga
  • Laura Soveral
  • Ana Moreira
  • Isabel Cardoso
  • Henrique Espírito Santo

Director

  • Miguel Gomes

Crime, Love & Sex


1h 53min


0 FSK

DE

Brazil
France
Germany
Portugal
2012
Aurora, an old woman, her Capeverdean housekeeper, and Pilar, all live in the same house in Lisbon. When the old woman dies, the other two learn a secret from Aurora's past.

Aurora, an old woman, her Capeverdean housekeeper, and Pilar, all live in the same house in Lisbon. When the old woman dies, the other two learn a secret from Aurora's past.


Miguel Gomes's film is an open deference to Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's silent movie “Tabu” and was celebrated at the Berlinale, where it received the Alfred Bauer Prize.


"What’s most remarkable about Gomes’ achievement is how he’s uncovered the genuine, yearning emotion within a fairly standard colonials-in-Africa romance, stripping it of the usual meller trappings to find the kind of love poets write about." (Variety)


"This film is unforgettable and gripping and masterful, one should use big words, because, for once, they are deserved." (Die Zeit)

Cast & Crew