To Die like a Man
| To Die like a Man | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | João Pedro Rodrigues |
| Produced by |
Maria João Sigalho Judith Nora |
| Written by | João Pedro Rodrigues |
| Starring |
Fernando Santos Chandra Malatitch Miguel Loureiro Jenny Larue Fernando Gomes |
| Cinematography | Rui Poças |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 133 minutes |
| Country | Portugal |
| Language | Portuguese |
To Die like a Man (Portuguese: Morrer Como Um Homem) is a 2009 Portuguese drama film directed by João Pedro Rodrigues, produced by the production company Rosa Filmes.
It tells the story of a homosexual drag-queen at the end of his career. The cast includes several Portuguese real-life drag-queens, with no previous, or little, acting experience. The story has been allegedly inspired by the real story of Joaquim Centúrio de Almeida (artistic name: Ruth Bryden), a Portuguese drag-queen, and has motivated a lawsuit on account of plagiarism of a biographical book on the life of Almeida by the late author Carlos Castro, who was murdered in 2011.
Cast
In order of appearance:
- Chandra Malatitch as Zé Maria
- John Romão as Mendes
- Ivo Barroso as Cardoso
- Gonçalo Ferreira de Almeida as Maria Bakker
- Miguel Loureiro as Paula
- Francisco Peres as the Plastic Surgeon
- Fernando Santos as Tonia
- Cindy Scrash as Irene
- Carloto Cotta as Carlos
- Jenny Larrue as Jenny
- Gonçalo Mendes as Sérgio
- Alexander David as Rosário
- Fernando Gomes as Teixeira
- André Murraças as Dr. Felgueiras
- Amândio Coroado as the Hospital Doctor
- Marco Paiva as the Nurse
Awards and nominations
It competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.[1] It was selected as the Portuguese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards[2] but it didn't make the final shortlist.[3]
Critical reception
Critical reception has been mixed. Variety.com's Leslie Felperin stated that he disliked the film's excessive running time (138'), that too much of the time is taken up by music and singing, feeling that the movie and storyline were unremarkable.[4] However, the movie was voted "Best Undistributed Film" of 2009 in the Village Voice's 10th Annual Film Critics' Poll.[5] "A fabulously sad fable about a Fado-singing, pooch-pampering trannie growing old, [To Die Like a Man] is also a piece of lyrical, playful, unpredictable filmmaking," wrote film critic J. Hoberman.
See also
- List of submissions to the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Portuguese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- ↑ "Festival de Cannes: To Die Like a Man". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
- ↑ "To Die Like a Man represents Portugal in Hollywood". cineuropa. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
- ↑ "9 Foreign Language Films Continue to Oscar Race". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
- ↑ Felperin, Leslie (2009-05-22). "To Die Like a Man". Variety.
- ↑ Hoberman, J. (2009-12-22). "The Village Voice's 10th Annual Film Critics' Poll". Village Voice.
External links
- To Die Like a Man official page at Rosa Filmes web site (click on "ENG", then on "ABOUT US", then on "FILMS", then on "TO DIE LIKE A MAN")
- To Die Like a Man at the Internet Movie Database