A powerful entrepreneur wants to build an exclusive resort hotel in Villanova, but he discovers the location he has in mind is protected by local land-use regulations. He hires Maria, a beautiful and elegant prostitute, to seduce the mayor, leaving him open to blackmail if he won't give the entrepreneur what he wants. Maria has no trouble twisting Meireles around her finger, but police detectives Madeira and Neves get wind of the plan and set out to expose the plot...
Acting
Soraia Chaves owns every frame she slinks through.
Production
Lisbon never looked this simultaneously gorgeous and grimy.
Director
António-Pedro Vasconcelos
Joaquim de Almeida
Mouros
Soraia Chaves
Maria
Ivo Canelas
Madeira
Nicolau Breyner
Carlos Meireles
José Raposo
Neves
José Eduardo
Gomes
Maria João Abreu
Amália
Custódia Gallego
Odete
Ana Padrão
Inês
Virgílio Castelo
Health Minister
Luís Mascarenhas
Matos
Sofia Grillo
Luísa
Daniela Faria
Helga
Raul Solnado
Jacinto
Joaquim Leitão
Andrade
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during Portugal's economic boom, the film cynically predicts the corruption scandals that would explode during the 2010s austerity crisis.
Director António-Pedro Vasconcelos fought the studio to keep the 145-minute runtime, arguing Portuguese audiences 'deserve to suffer like everyone else.'
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