Passionada (2003)

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Best movie ever!

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Passionada (2002), directed by Dan Ireland, is a love story that will either fascinate or frustrate you. Some have called Passionada formulaic, and the film certainly begins with boy meets girl and continues from there, but I bought into the film and the love story, and I enjoyed the movie.Although the basic plot is not subtle, the sense of the Portuguese ethnic community in New Bedford is well portrayed, and the singing of fado--central to the story--is wonderful. (The young fadista Misia provides the fado singing for Sofia Milos--the film is worth seeing for the music alone.)Sofia Milos portrays a beautiful young widow. Much is made of the fact that she doesn't look old enough to be the mother of Emmy Rossum, who was 16 when the movie was filmed. Actually, Milos could be the mother of a 16-year-old, but she's so youthful and attractive that it's hard to think of her as the somewhat older and wiser woman she's supposed to be portraying.Anyway, who cares? If you want to see a movie with gritty realism about the hardships of widowhood or the fishing industry, see a different film. If you want to see a love story set in scenic New Bedford, and accompanied by the fado, see Passionada.

Charlie (Jason Isaac) is a card player of dubious luck, who lives in a cheap motel and is going nowhere until he meets and woos a conservative and beautiful Portugese seamstress/singer, Celia, played by the stunning Sofia Milos (CSI: Miami). Celia has a meddlesome teenage daughter, Vickie (Emmy Rossum) who wants to learn how to count cards by blackmailing Charlie into teaching her, but he is banned from all casinos. Vickie wants to hook her mother up with a new man but her computer dating schemes fail. In the meanwhile, Charlie's only friends, a wealthy couple, Lois (Theresa Russell) and Danny Vargas (Seymore Cassel), lend him their Jaguar XKE, sailboat, and home to impress the widow that he is a successful and wealthy entrepreneur. It sounds like a typical dating game setup except for the background settings of the Portugese fishing community, mouthwatering seafood cooking, and casino gaming that flesh out the story. Love, fish, and lying to make points with the mother, Charlie learns how to turn his life around the hard way through his deceptions which backfire, and Sofia tries to forget the husband whose death has left her prematurely widowed yet not dead from the neck down. Through the interferences of Vickie, lots of fish as unlikely props, and a sappy storyline, this is an entertaining film which allows the wonderful character actor Jason Isaac to show another side to his already powerful acting chops. Emmy Rossum is adequately irritating in a pre-Phantom of the Opera role which suggests her growth from typical teen to ingénue in training. However, it is the vibrant Sofia Milos as Celia who gives a rounded performance from cloistered widow to sensuous nightclub chanteuse that surprises and delights.This is a small story about love in all its forms and definitions. Thoroughly enjoyable and wonderful for a date nite or simply rainy day, Passionada entertains.

The cinematography is fantastic. I even shed some tears as did my friend. However, my brother and I, both born in Portugal, were disappointed with the pronunciation of the Portuguese, more Brazilian Portuguese than Portuguese from Portugal. Although the Fado lip sung by the main character was moving it was obvious that the actress was lip singing. Sofia Milos did a fine job as Celia Amonte, but aren't there any Portuguese-American aspiring actresses in Hollywood? The reason my Big Fat Greek Wedding was such a sleeper success is that most of the cast playing Greeks were Greek-American. It is obvious that the research of the Portuguese culture, language and cuisine was minimal. I'm amazed that this movie was filmed on location in New Bedford, MA, yet there were so many ethnic faux-pas. Were any authentic Portuguese-Americans advisors on this movie? Why is it that other American ethnic groups can have movies made of them with correct speech, etc. and that the Portuguese can not? Example: Mystic Pizza. At least Mystic Pizza only played Portuguese folkloric music not Brazilian Samba music. If Hollywood is to make a movie about the Portuguese in America they should keep it Portuguese.

Passionada is such an unpretentious movie that its unique charm and superb craft sneak up on you, and by the end, win you over in such a refreshing way that is really stays with you...and for me, that's the sign of a wonderful movie!I haven't felt so good watching a movie this simple in a long time. And, if its complexity you're looking for, I suggest you see Dan Ireland's other film, The Whole Wide World. But, for me, Passionada may look simple, but to pull off what Ireland does so successfully here is an almost next to impossible feat. This is a sunny, optimistic celebration of love and second chances, told with the artistry of a European master. In a world of 'edge' from independent filmmakers, this is a welcome and refreshing departure. It's almost like you have been transported back in time to a happier, more care free world, where the most important thing is family, community and personal happiness. Sound unusual?The cast is sublime, especially Sofia Milos. What a beauty, what a performance! She's a cross between Anna Magnani and Sophia Loren, with a little Irene Pappas thrown in for a chaser. Emmy Rossum is going to be a big star, and like Renee Zellweger, she owes Ireland big time in his brave choice of casting her in a role (I read that she was 14 at the time) that she wasn't old enough to play, but did it so beautifully! Also, like what The Whole Wide World did for Zellweger (she got Jerry Maguire from it), I hear this film brought Rossum to the attention of Joel Schumacher who cast her in the lead role of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera.Jason Isaacs is perfect in a very difficult part, but he plays it to Cary Grant perfection. This should open eyes to those that only think he can play a villain.The score by the always amazing Harry Gregson-Williams, the intoxicating singing of Fado songs and the sumptuous cinematography by Ireland's long time collaborator, Claudio Rocha are nothing less than first rate.If you want to be taken to a world where you've never been before, rent this DVD. Such a shame it was wasted in its brief theatrical release. Don't let this one slip by. If you long for a film that will make you feel good, here it is. Do yourself a BIG favor.