Portugal, 35 mm, 1/1, 37, color, 85′ (1992)
What young Samuel was doing at the time of night on the deserted quey, nobody will ever know for sure. In fact, when Mr. Eloi, an old retired sailor, approached him, he was staring at the waters of Tagus. Tired as he was of his days, Mr. Eloi could not have thought any other way. Samuel was there to put an end to his life. And when Samuel, symbolically or not, invites him to share his last dive, Eloi, as a last resort, stops him from throwing himself in the river and, saying that Heaven can wait, takes him on a tour of the city. So the two characters go off for two long nights of roving during St. Anthony festivities. In he night club they meet Esperanca, a dumb prostitute who is Eloi’s daughter and the other ladies of the night – Rosa Bianca and Ivone. The frandship that grows between them is sealed in a boarding house of ill-repute. Young Samuel discovers love. The Tagus no longer inspires him…