Providence and the Guitar

From Viennale

What if all our pains and sorrows (no money, no house, no way of making life work in the way you want it to) had already been suffered by a couple of travelling artists in the nineteenth century? History may repeat itself, but it changes shape in the process: the texture of garments, the way houses, bars, and places of work are organised, and the different types of musical instruments employed. Yet the heart always remains the same. Based on a novella by Robert Louis Stevenson, this new musical by João Nicolau follows León and Elvira through the ages, from present-day Portugal to an old French town two centuries back. Their ultimate desire is to live a life worth living, which they can also believe in. In each timeline, they have similar friends and enemies, possessing equal amounts of charm and wit. The main joy of this film is seeing these people together in every shot, talking to one another at great speed, singing, fighting and having beautiful conversations. Gracefully, generously, wholeheartedly, A PROVIDÊNCIA E A GUITARRA features frequent Nicolau collaborators Clara Riedenstein, Pedro Inês, Manoel Mozos and Portuguese singer and former Eurovision winner Salvador Sobral. (Lucía Salas)