Eccentricities of a Blonde-haired Girl

Dir: Manoel de Oliveira

2009

****

A disjointed, rather odd and slightly absurd film but visually rich and hypnotically mysterious. The film is based on a moral yarn from 19th-century writer Eça de Queiroz and so Oliveira's minimlist, almost detached approach works rather well. At 101 years old at the time of direction, Oliveira has lost none of his flare, in fact, he just gets better and better. It's delightful and puzzling at the same time, knowingly satirical in places and a joy to watch.