An urban folktale in the spirit of Fellini, yet shaped with Monteiro’s distinct caprice. Eloi, a paunchy middle-aged man, finds Samuel, a young sad sack, about to kill himself by plunging into the sea. Eloi takes Samuel under his wing, giving him a hot meal and bringing him to a seedy night club to introduce him to Esperança, who is said to be the most beautiful sex worker in Lisbon—and is also Eloi’s daughter. “[The film] is an afflicted yet sublime example of the dual nature of Monteiro’s gaze: he is drawn to carnal pleasures and glimpses of spiritual paradise, awash in natural light and poetry, shot under the influence of silent film, Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and Lisbon’s traditional feasts” –MoMA.