Reading the other reviews helped me to put this film in context. If you watch the film cold you will be baffled and not sure how to react. You must understand that the film is humorous and a parody.

The film is based on a nineteenth century short story (Eça de Queiroz). But it is a parody on nineteenth century story telling (and life). As such it is humorous and entertaining.

A clerk Macário (Ricardo Trêpa) sees a girl Luisa (Catarina Wallerstein) out of his window... he must marry her (Yes this is funny in today's world). His boss also his uncle will not allow him to be married. The clerk goes off to find his fortune to support his love. He prevails but is swindled of his fortune. However, in the end his uncle forgives him and supports the marriage. As he is about to wed he discovers his wife is a thief. That ruins it for him! (Of course Wallerstein is drop dead gorgeous so that kind of moralistic ending is so unlikely--more humor).

If you don't understand this as humor (parody a stuffy idiotic Victorian story in modern times) it may appear surrealistic or too arty.

The film is beautifully shot --it was too close up--this has to do with the parody too (I am assuming).

Watch it and then figure it out (like I did) that will give you the most mileage.

I am in awe of the director aged over 100 years making such good films. There is indeed something magical about his films--and this one is no different. Windows across a street. People do not call out to the other but only watch each other discretely. There are elegant rooms with candle-lit chandeliers. Possibly the chandeliers are lit with dozens of bulbs that look like candles (or are they real candles)?. There are no sounds of vehicles or electrical switches in camera vision. Yet the décor of the modest cloth shop is 21st century. Euro is the currency and there is a mention of a Portuguese airline, and there is a LED computer screen. The film begins and ends on a modern train compartment. For de Oliveira, time can be switched within the film.

Books, libraries, history, music played indoors to a select audience indicate a sophistication with the matching indoor décor. The conversations are graceful while the story does include mentions of loss of many handkerchiefs from the shop and the stealing of a diamond ring. When the stolen item is paid for, the resulting conversation is most elegant and spoken without raised voices. Add to this, the few Oliveira films I have seen use music only when required. Most contemporary directors cannot conceive such films. That's the magic of the de Oliveira at 100 plus years. The film will be recalled for its style and less for its tale that expects the viewer to suspend belief in logic.

The casting of the main characters is a delight. Ricardo Trepa as Macario, the beautiful Catarina Wallenstein as Luisa, and Leanor Silveira as the middle aged woman on the train. The film reminds you of the décor of Raul Ruiz' "The Mysteries of Lisbon" but that film was not set in the time when Euro was a currency of Portugal.

This 2009 film, by the master filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira, is a rather short but captivating story. A man begins to recount his passionate tale to a fellow passenger as they travel aboard a train.

Then in flashback, as he narrates, you can see the story unfold. How he became obsessed with a young blond woman, waving a fan, in a building window directly across the street from his office. You see the lengths he went to, risking everything, to be with her, and the unexpected conclusion to the love saga.

I felt the film maintained the viewer's interest consistently as the story progressed. Therefore, I found it to be quite engrossing.

De Oliveira I believe is now over 100 years old, which makes the film even more remarkable.