O Bobo (1987)

The story is set in Lisbon, four years after the 25 April Revolution. In the abandoned studios of Lisboa Filme, director Francisco Bernardes has been struggling for a year to rehearse his stage adaptation of Alexandre Herculano’s novel O Bobo. The play, which deals with Portugal’s first king and the development of the nation, also features Francisco as Dom Bibas, a hidden observer of passions and intrigues. As the director tries to rekindle his affection for Rita Portugal, a film actress, their relationship is disrupted by Francisco’s involvement in political intrigues when he agrees to take part in an arms-dealing venture to finance his play. He does so through a childhood friend, João. João has lost all the avant-garde illusions inspired in him by the promises of the Carnation Revolution and leaves a subversive far-left group. In the final week before O Bobo’s opening, during a rehearsal of the final scene, João is murdered in the studio. A police investigation into João’s murder is opened. After a sleepless night, Francisco and Rita meet to remember their friend and piece together the final days of rehearsals.