Variações: Guardian Angel (2019)
Rayting:
7.5/
10 2.9K votes
Language: Portuguese | English
Release date: 22 August 2019
A biopic about António Variações, a famous Portuguese pop rock singer from the 80s who died from AIDS related complications in 1984.
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User Reviews
Amazing biopic about António Variações a Portuguese brilliant "way ahead of is time" singer. In the late 70's early 80's Variações became famous 4 is peculiar looks, clothings dancing, voice and music which made him very misunderstood, in my opinion he was born Maybe 40/50 years too early.This is absolutely the Portuguese Freddie Mercury and Bohemian Rhapsody singer and movie. The story is well paced and compelling, telling a true story with some fictional characters and facts"for the sake of the dramatization" and some unproved theories. All in all a great job from everyone involved actors and director... Really loved it
Fmovies: The film is a great biopic even when don't "explain" the sickness of Variações, but, for me, it was the best portuguese production and I also loved Sérgio Praia's performance. The scenarios and the "closet" are amazing and it shows why Variações unfortunately took time to be recognized in those times. (Sorry for my english). Good Movies for all :)
Walking into this movie I was really hoping to learn more about the hairstylist who grew larger than life and became one of Portugal's biggest pop icons. Instead, I was forced into the indulgence of a director, who thought that showing a lot of unknown songs being sung without any orchestration for more than one hour was the way to go. There is no clear idea of what he wants to say, just random thoughts that he tries to blend together without any cohesion. Yes, Variações struggled until his music finally became "visible", but you never really get the idea that he was actually that famous or cherished in Portugal. There are no concerts (playing inside a disco doesn't count), and nothing that can lead you to have that idea. If the story had as much attention put to it as the costume design had, maybe this could have been a great movie.
Variações: Guardian Angel fmovies. When entering the movie, I didn't know much about António Variações besides the great artist he was and his unique way of dressing. The movie shows his biography in a superficial way and focus more on the music he wrote. In my opinion, it should be more balanced with his personal life, tastes, way of thinking and feelings. Also, the movie doesn't explain how he got "Variações" since his name is António Ribeiro. I enjoyed the way they recorded and the work of the main actor, but I simply feel the need, after seeing this movie, to search more about Variações, some things that the movie couldn't explain. However, it is nice to see that there are more options in the cinema besides the same and usual movies, specially in portuguese with this quality.
I was positively impressed with João Maia's film and, above all, with the way Sérgio Praia incarnates the character of António. There were moments when real footage of the time was interposed and I was so much immersed in the actor's performance, that I could not tell which was which.
Afore going, I had seen some negative critiques, namely from the actual singer's brother, who claimed the film focused too much on the homossexual issue and less on the artist's career. I couldn't disagree more, for two reasons.
First, it is simply not true. The film focus mainly on the creative genius of the artist and his internal agony to create his art.
Second, yes, there is some attention brought on his love relationships, especially the one with Fernando AtaÃde, but notice this: it's a biographic picture and sexuality is a central aspect in anyone's life - it is only natural that, in a film about the artist's life, some importance is given to his more fleshly passions. Furthermore, we are talking about Portugal in the 70's and 80's, a time when homossexuality was much more than a mere personal detail.
What I found to be missing in the film was any significant reference to the period António Ribeiro was in the war in Angola and his television debut by the tv host Júlio Isidro.
If it were for the acting, the photography, the custome design and the sets this movie would be a 10/10. It starts brilliantly, the beginning gives us hope of learning who António is, however it quickly becomes shallow. The character development just isn't there, the characters never come to life. The basic question of how Antonio Ribeiro became Variações is never answered, this movie was saved from being a let down by the actors.