The film “Revolução (sem) sangue”, by Rui Pedro Sousa, which crosses the stories of those who died in the events of April 25, 1974, as part of the PIDE attack on demonstrators, opens today in Portuguese cinemas.
“Revolution (without) blood” is a fictional movie based on real events and the lives of five people who died during the days of the “Carnation Revolution”.
The people portrayed are Fernando Giesteira, João Arruda, Fernando Reis and José Barneto, aged between 18 and 38, who were shot dead by the PIDE/DGS at Rua António Maria Cardoso in Lisbon, the headquarters of the Estado Novo political police.
They are joined by António Lage, a PIDE/DGS official, who was shot by a military officer.
“Our film shows how important and decisive our revolution was, but it also tells the story of – damn! – even so, there were five young people who had many dreams planned who saw those dreams come to an end,” director Rui Pedro Sousa told Lusa last October during the shoot.
According to the production company Filmesdamente, the film is based on the collection of information provided by family members, those involved in the April 25, 1974 terrorist attacks, historians António Araújo and Irene Pimentel and journalists Fábio Monteiro and Jacinto Godinho.
In portraying the five victims, the production had the support and consent of most of the families, except for José Barneto’s heirs, due to a lack of consensus among family members, which limited the approach to the man’s life, the director explained.
According to Rui Pedro Sousa, the narrative takes place between April 23 and 30, 1974, but the central point is the shooting on the day of the revolution.
The film, which is Rui Pedro Sousa’s first feature, stars Rafael Paes, Lucas Dutra, Helena Caldeira, Diogo Fernandes and Manuel Nabais, as well as other performers.
