Second Life (2009) User Reviews

Well... I partially agree...

[Shadow_3333 · 5/10 · 30 January 2009]

Well like your comment says miss. Armanda Benavente, specially in the 10th topic...

Portuguese movies are quite ridiculous, and unfortunately after all the movies made till today, like the ones u tagged " "Padre Amaro" and "Corrupção" ", Portuguese industry should have figured that SO much nudity its not good, it take the beauty out of the movies... really makes them look like hardcore porn movies.

And ofc Second Life is even worst... anyway there's a reason for it .. and like u said at begin... Portuguese movie industry is in crisis! that means that also unfortunately Portuguese ppl "like"/buy this kind a Movies which makes them have the false idea of quality.

Even if the movie sells doesn't mean that is a good movie... cuz the mentality that comes from ppl missed good movies for this.

An absolutely unclassifiable farce!

[tirolirobenavente · 1/10 · 23 January 2009]

A suggestion to IMDb: users should be allowed to give 0 stars to a film. In the case of Second Life, I feel like I'm over-rating it by giving it 1 out of 10 and I'm positive I won't be the only one.

But let's get to the film itself. I was one of the people to be mis-fortunate enough to attend the avant-premiere in Lisbon and as it went on and on an on I just couldn't believe my eyes and my ears. Portugal's industry is in crisis, it's true, but this is a little too much. Let me state my points one by one:

1 - It feels like the film has nothing at all to say, that the producers just wanted to make a film, whatever that would be, and they came up with this in a few days.

2 - The narrative structure is absurdly amateurish. Not even in film schools do people come up with such excuses to justify absence of plot, nor do they create such poor schemes to manage to wrap up the "story", if there was one.

3 - There are no characters. Actors are like talking heads and the few chances of developing a little depth in some of them are dumbly thrown in the garbage by the writers who obviously did not know when they were dealing with "turning points" or "climaxes".

4 - There is no story. The situations succeed around one event that keeps being talked about again and again so that information won't get lost. It gets incredibly boring after a while, because everybody can sense there is nothing at all to say.

5 - There is no relation between cause and effect in the plot. Really strange things happen because the characters and the situations don't happen in a realistic way. At one point, all the characters gather around a dead body without reacting to it, while the dead guy talks (exposes) his connections to the others for the second time, so that the scene may have some tension. Moreover, a police investigation begins about a death that had NEVER looked like a murder - so we wonder "what for?".

6 - Light in this film is nice, but not the frames that are unimaginative and cliché. Some scenes happen like they are separate from the narrative and visually made me think of early nineties music videos. We sense the production value but also that it was applied to the least interesting ideas (helicopter shots over a river - very Travel Channel, very Discovery).

7 - Most of the dialogue is mellow in a corny way and often there are really funny lines that obviously were not meant to be funny.

8 - We never really get to know the leading character and there is a strong confusion about his nature that seems, like in the other characters, very little defined and, therefore, we never really relate to him. Other important characters in the "crime" subplot, like the servants, are never given any importance at all so, when a connection is made between them and the plot, it all seems very clumsy and laughable.

9 - The film's tag-line "The movie you were waiting for", is quite a misfortunate thing to say about this huge piece of dirt, but reflects I think both the pretentiousness of its makers as well as the total incapacity they have to tell steel from gold. Calling it "a good Portuguese film" as I heard some people say is also a huge fallacy since this is neither good neither Portuguese. If fact, it's so detached from any specificity that it could never be anything anywhere.

10 - All nudity in the film is deprived of any beauty (maybe for being out of context and being common place), but there is a lot - to a laughable extent. This has been a pattern in a few of the latest Portuguese "blockbusters" like "Padre Amaro" and "Corrupção", both from Utopia Filmes, but it was never so absurdly tasteless. How about a good, genuine, fearless porno next time?

Now, why did I go see it? Good question. I guess I was hoping it would actually be special in some kind of way... Maybe I was as naive as the people that will make this a success by buying the ticket and then coming out outraged and felling stupid. That makes me sad. As it does to talk everyday to so many talented young filmmakers who would give their right arm to have a tenth of this films budget and make a nice movie out of it.

worse portuguese movie i've seen.

[quaseprovisorio · 1/10 · 18 January 2018]

Watching portuguese actors speaking english (and italian!) is usually laughable, but it reaches new heights here. a nude scene with no logic, a girl opens her legs and the cop finds the drugs... awesome! a plot that leads to nowhere, but tries to be "smart" while it doesn't make any sense.

this is a movie that attempted to reach foreign audiences- mostly poland due to the main actor- and according to the producer/director Alexandre Valente "one of the places in europe where people still go a lot to the movies". and this is the reason why the guy is polish.

we have pretty bad movies in portugal. for me, this is the utmost example of it. i don't see anything redeeming on this.

Feels like a Joke

[jpedro961 · 1/10 · 9 July 2009]

I decided to make this review after seeing some reviews with titles like "cinematic experience"... I doubt the origin of this kind of review So i made this one to warn you. I actually doubt that even the director of this movie thinks he has made anything good.

The movie introduce us an English man that is making a birthday dinner and decides to invite some friends. soon as the characters are introduced we start to realize that the dialog is awful, the actual plot is boring and the constant speak 1 one word in English and another in Portuguese annoyed me( but this has little importance). The sub-plots are 2 much predictable,1 guy who slept with his best friends wife. The "bunny" who has drugs, the waiter/boss problems.

Then we have some what they call "suspense", i struggled with myself to keep awake and watch it. This movie has no connection with the audience, the acting besides a few ones was painful. We actually don't care what happens to Nicholas and his "intelectual monologues" even if we let the brain outside the teather this movie would still not work. And i'm not going to speak the cheese moments with Claudia Vieira, the second life idea.

They wanted to show Liliana Santos bubs and sex scenes(scenes that were horribly made)if that was the idea at least show it during the whole movie, it could made much more sense than this piece of garbage.

I'm a little surprised that actors like Lucia Moniz agreed to get in this movie.The only person i understand that accepted to be in this movie is Figo and those who watched the movie will understand.

Finally, Keep away from this movie. or at least rent it on DVD to those nights where you can't sleep, he will make miracles for you. 1 out of 10. PS. I see now that the movie makers of this movie are the same of "Corrupção", now i gather much things.

...And if we could live two lives?

[mario_c · 7/10 · 29 January 2009]

I suppose there aren't too many Portuguese films with a non-linear plot; and I suppose there aren't too many mainstream Portuguese films about deep and philosophical issues. Well, I suppose then SECOND LIFE is the first one to join these features all together. This film is really about a profound and philosophical matter: the way we live our lives, the choices we made and if those choices make us happy or not; and it's also about crucial moments which can change our lives in one or another way...but can't change our destiny! So, that's the point of the movie. If we agree with it or not it's another matter. Personally I don't believe that much in this thing called destiny, but the parallel stories in the movie go into that way. However, if it really tries to be deep and philosophical it ends being a bit superficial, because the characters and even the parallel plots aren't as deep as they should be to an issue like that. But I must praise the attempt, and a nice job was done anyway.

It all begins when NICOLAS (Piotr Adamczyk) celebrates his birthday with his wife and friends in his home in Alentejo. As the party was going on he appears dead in the pool and he starts talking about himself, about seeing himself dead and about his life and the choices he had made. Then appears a flashback to 10 years ago when he met CLAUDIA (Claudia Vieira) in Milan and a parallel plot begins. However, both plots are non-linear, as told, and they mix together through the entire film.

The movie is very slow paced and melancholic, as an important part of the screenplay are the monologues of NICOLAS speaking about his life and his choices; but it also has some hot and strong scenes: the lesbian scenes and the "passerelle scene" in Milan. In fact, if in one hand the movie tries to be philosophical and tries to put us thinking, in the other hand it really puts in front of our eyes some seductive and intense sexual scenes that will block in one second our philosophical thoughts! Sandra Cóias and Liliana Santos do one of the most attractive lesbian couples of the Portuguese cinema ever! For sure! Those scenes are really tasty!:)

The directing could have been better (especially because the movie tries to fit in a kind of cinematography that demands good directing), but the production is good and it seems the movie was made thinking about the international market, as the English language and the choice of a foreign actor to do the main role prove, I think. Generally the acting is not bad, but one more time I ask (I already did it in the movie ARTE DE ROUBAR): Is it really necessary to put some non-actors doing minimal roles just to call the viewer's attention?! I don't think so! Luis Figo, please just play football and leave the acting job for professionals! Each one in their place!

All in all it's one more nice mainstream Portuguese film, with a good production, a nice acting (from the main actors) and an alternative and interesting plot.

A cinematic experience

[tastingthesnow · 8/10 · 3 February 2009]

I recommend anyone to see this film. It is a pure cinematic experience: the music is astonishing, the images are beautiful, the acting terrific and the story keeps you guessing as all times. It is a complex story with lots of questions. I think a lot of people do not try to follow it, and so then they criticise it, which is more reflection them than the film. Also, any Portuguese person is interested to see so many of their greatest national names in the one film. Compared to the standard Portuguese film this is a film that raises to new heights what Portuguese cinema can do and achieve. I think Alexandre Valente is a producer that many people love to hate because he is so successful, because is a smart producer, he understands very well the *whole* approach to film - the images, the story, the music, the acting, the promotion, and he bring all these parts together to make a winning film.

I went to cinema Sunday and it was full! Not an empty seat. Two weeks ago I went to "Contract" and 5 people were in the cinema.

Any Portuguese man and woman should support our local films but we are always so rude, so nasty about our own films. We a country of just 10 millions and America has 250 millions and billions of dollars to the industry. We have so little money, our films mostly look amateur because the budget is so small, and here for the first time is a film that looks and feels more like a big budget Hollywood film, the movie is beautiful and the direction amazing, and people are still complaining.

I say bravo! bravo! bravo! - see this film!

Simply the best Portuguese film ever made till now which deeply respects an audience

[princessbetty · 8/10 · 3 February 2009]

I always had shame on the Portuguese Cinema. The pseudo called authors like Manoel Oliveira, João Botelho only make films to themselves, they are selfish filmmakers. I went to see Second Life cause of the fuss about it, waiting to hated it like any Portuguese film that I saw on the past. I was so surprised, I thought that was a great cinema experience. A simple story, that make us wonder, just that (why so many comments on the depth of it...it's clear that the intention of the authors is not that). The music is brilliant, Sasseti never stops of wondering me, Acacio light is simple and great and it's shoot in a beautiful way. If going to the cinema means having emotions and forget the real world so Second Life makes the job and scores high. I just didn't enjoyed the sequence of Figo, for me was the weakest moment, but it's a quick moment and the structure of the film holds it good. This film is simply the best Portuguese film ever made till now, and deeply respects the audience. A small note, I was verifying the rates that our Portuguese critics gave to the film and I notice a funny coincidence, they rated it so badly as films like "Vicki Cristina Barcelona" or "Revolutionary Road", strange isn't it?