The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis (2020) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language

2020 · 129 mins · Portuguese

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Directed by

João Botelho

Starring

Luísa Cruz, Chico Diaz, Cláudio da Silva, Hugo Silva, André Gomes, Victoria Guerra

The acclaimed writer Fernando Pessoa, known for his extensive use of heteronyms to cope with solitude, finds his creation, Ricardo Reis, returning to Portugal after sixteen years in Brazil. It's 1936, a time of political turmoil marked by the rise of Mussolini's fascism, Hitler’s Nazism, and the Spanish Civil War, all while Salazar’s New State grips Portugal. The story explores the complex relationship between Pessoa and Reis, and delves into Reis’s passionate and unattainable connections with two women, Lídia and Marcenda. The narrative intertwines life and death, blending literature and cinema.