"Fado" is a German/Portuguese co-production from 2016, so not really a very recent nor older movie, somewhere in between. The writer and director here is Jonas Rothlaender and this was his first full feature non-documentary movie and the awards reception he got for it is really not bad at all and not entirely undeserving either, so we can be assured he will most likely make more films in the future with the success of this one and I hope they will be as convincing as these slightly over 100 minutes. The name is the location in Portugal where this is set I believe, maybe it also means something in Portuguese I dont know as I don't speak teh language, however if it really just the place, then it isn't the best title choice here because I felt the country this is set in from start to finish is not really that important. There were very few references to Portugal really. It also could have played in Italy. The two lead actors here are Golo Euler and Luise Heyer and the latter also got some awards recognition for her portrayal here, which may have had to do with her going topless a few times. German film buffs may know these two. The rest of the cast I am not gonna say too much, it is mostly Portuguese actors and I as a German film buff cannot say I am too familiar with them. Maybe Portuguese audiences are. But it is not important either.
This is the story of a man, who works as a doctor in Germany, but still misses his ex-girlfriend, so he leaves everything behind, his home, his job etc. (seems like he did not have too many contacts in terms of friends etc.) and heads off to Portugal in an attempt to get her back. She is surprised to see him, but won't push him away. The more time passes, the closer the two get and eventually they are a couple again. All perfect, isn't it? Well not really because the longer the yare a couple, the more problematic things get again and we find out why they split up during the time that took place before the film started. He is an extremely jealous control freak and suspects behind every friendship the woman has with a man that there could be more going on. And it seems as if it destroys them again despite him assuring her initially that he has changed. After the struggles get more serious, the two seem to manage to have found a way to talk about it and to fix their relationship. But I probably won't surprise you if I say that is not bound to stay this way. There will be no happy ending eventually. A final split-up is inevitable from the girl and the moment we find out she has somebody new, we know there will be no way back for the two main characters getting together. When she goes out with her new friend, he secretly manages to get into her apartment and hide there until the two return and have sex. He cannot take it anymore and starts hitting the man coming out of his hideout. When the girl he loves (or thinks he loves) tries to get in the way, she gets punched too. Maybe this scene is the one that justifies this film being called a thriller because something way worse could have happened there, but I'd rather call it a full-on relationship drama. Maybe it was a bad decision from her to get together with him again, but of course you cannot blame her. One scene I found interesting is when we see her have sex in a hotel room with another guy and we cannot be entirely sure if this is happening or if it is just another of his illusions that have nothing to do with reality. It's up for you to decide if his jealousy had broken them apart so far at that point already that she had something going on with another man or if it was just fiction. Overall, I think this was an interesting movie. The one thing I wondered is why he as he really wants to change never considered getting proffesional help from a therapist the moment he realized he is destroying their relationship again. He clearly has these moments when he hates himself for what he does, so that would have been a viable option. It is tough to find something I disliked here. Nothing I really disliked. I think the ending with the big wave was a bit pretentious to be honest and went too strongly against everything before that unfortunately, so yes the film definitely could have gone out on a higher note. Also could have been 10 minutes or so shorter with cutting out some more forgettable scenes. However, as a whole it was a good watch and movie and I give it a thumbs-up, even if it is not a must-see. Go watch it if you get your hands on a copy.
