Susana de Sousa Dias

documentary
Portugal, 2009
written and directed by Susana de Sousa Dias.
93 min.

don Quijote winner in Coimbra 2010. The film tells the story of the abuses and experiences of a number of ordinary Portuguese people at the hands of the Portuguese dictatorship. The film uses the ingenious technique of displaying photographs (mugshots) of the people, taken when they were arrested. While the image fills the screen we hear that person’s account of their experience.

The testimonies are shocking, graphic and very moving. The filmmaker uses sound very well also, with every uncomfortable pause, gasp and sob clearly audible. While watching the film, I wondered if the photo-image technique would hold up over the course of the film’s 93 minutes. That it does is testament to the power of the film and also the heart-wrenching stories told within it.

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