The Forest (2002)

Adapted from a Novel by Ferreira de Castro (a Portuguese writer from the XX century) A SELVA is nice co-production between Portugal, Brazil and Spain, directed by Leonel Vieira. I didn't read the book so I can't tell about the novel itself or its adaptation to the screen, but I can tell you I did enjoy the movie and the way it was directed and produced. The cinematography is also good. I think it's visually very strong and beautiful. And about the production I must say it's above the average Portuguese movie! Probably because it's an international co-production and probably because it had more money than the Portuguese movies use to have, but a nice job was done anyway. The acting is very nice too. It was interesting to see actors from three different nationalities work together so well. The soundtrack has the typical music of an epic story but it's a bit unoriginal and repetitive. Overall I think A SELVA is one of the best movies in Leonel Vieira's career and undoubtedly one of the best (co-) productions of the Portuguese cinema ever. I score it 8/10 (one extra point for the nice production).