The Holy Alliance

1980 2h 0m PT

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 1

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1974, not long after the death of Portuguese dictator Salazar, who had ruled Portugal from the early '30s to the late '60s, a group of disgruntled Army officers held a coup. They were even more disgruntled when they realized how the coup was being manipulated by leftist officers to instigate genuine elections and establish a constitution for the first time in Portuguese history. Though their intent was to form a radical socialist state, circumstances prevented this, and a genuine parliamentary democracy emerged. This film explores the circumstances of a right-wing businessman during those times. The man is an old-fashioned authoritarian, whose attentiveness to the needs of his mistress, wife and son is crude where it exists at all.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Io Appolloni
Sandra
Lia Gama
Maria
Henrique Viana
José Saraiva
Helena Isabel
Sandra's model
Adelaide João
Nurse
Luís Mascarenhas
Orlando Costa
Teresa Roby

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Eduardo Geada
Writers: Eduardo Geada, Edgar Gonsalves Preto, Manuel Machado da Luz
Languages: Portuguese

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

46 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

CRAFT

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Eduardo Geada, shot by Manuel Costa e Silva. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Eduardo Geada shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Io Appolloni and Lia Gama and Henrique Viana carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0078202 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Eduardo Geada directs. Manuel Costa e Silva behind the camera. Eduardo Geada cuts. Dialogue in Portuguese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

146 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
3Directed by Eduardo Geada, shot by Manuel Costa e Silva. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Eduardo Geada shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Io Appolloni and Lia Gama and Henrique Viana carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0078202 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.