Capas Negras

May 11 1947 N/A 1h 43m
Drama, Musical, Romance

The great fadista, Amelia Rodrigues, made her screen debut in Capas Negras, which took its name from the black capes worn by the students in the university city of Coimbra, where the film is set. The action begins in a tavern where a group of former students are reminiscing about their time at the university. One of the students, Jose Duarte then breaks into song, performing an impromptu fado in the local Coimbra style. The tavern owner's niece, the aptly named Maria Lisboa promptly retaliates with a fado of the Lisbon variety. The melodramatic plot then centers on the frustrated romance between these two characters, and the soundtrack is essentially a musical duel between these two different styles of Portugal's national song.

Plot

This is the love story between José Duarte, a law student at the University of Coimbra (the oldest and most traditional university in Portugal and one of the oldest universities in Europe), and a modest and simple girl named Maria de Lisboa, who truly loves him. But she's afraid that all happiness will end when the school year's over and students leave the city for their homes and hometowns. The couple will live difficult times, quarrels and intrigues, and when José ultimately leaves her and becomes a famous singer by singing traditional songs of the student environment. But while José achieves fame and fortune, Maria is pregnant with his son, and she's fearful of the shame of being a single mother. When the baby is born, she seeks him for help but she doesn't find him. In desperation, she tries to leave the baby in his doorstep but she's seen, denounced and arrested. Will José help Maria escape from prison and public shame?

Written by

Alberto Barbosa, José Galhardo, Luis Galhardo

Directed by

Armando de Miranda

Cast

Amália Rodrigues, Alberto Ribeiro, Artur Agostinho

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

Portugal

Production Companies

Exclusivos Triunfo, Produtores Associados, Real República do Rás-Teparta, Lisboa Filme, Cinelândia

Languages

Português

Awards

N/A

Scores
# of Votes
103
Average Rating
6.2 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA