Adrift

A film with flaws and problems, but which, in Portuguese cinema, has some innovations and originalities worthy of positive mention.

I've seen a lot of movies, but I never want to claim to be an expert on anything. However, from what I've already seen, I realized that Portuguese cinema is much more specialized in comedies and telefilms than in dramatic material. Just think of Portuguese films (even recent productions, leaving aside the great and venerable classics with Vasco Santana and others) and probably most of the titles that will come to mind are comedies.

This film is therefore an outsider in the middle of the party, shall we say! So when I decided to see it I was already curious, but as I watched the film I started to think “where have I seen this before?”. To my surprise, this is a remake of another movie I had seen a few years ago, “Open Waters 2”. If a dramatic film is something unusual in Portuguese cinema, a remake of a foreign film is something I had never seen before. Director Sérgio Graciano dared, he took a different path from the others, and that is always an effort that deserves to be praised and encouraged, regardless of the result. And I want to make it clear that I leave here, to the director and the production, a special praise for doing something different.

The cast has reasonably well-known actors, who do a very good job, and with a lot of realism. Dânia Neto convinces us more when she pretends to be afraid of water than when she fights with her husband just because. Diogo Amaral also does valuable work here. Lourenço Ortigão and Afonso Pimentel end up with two of the most irritating characters (the smug rich boy and the goofy guy) but manage to get away with the task at hand. Dalila Carmo ended up with a less interesting character, which didn't stop her from doing a good job. Catarina Gouveia, who everything indicated that she would be here just to appear in a bikini or without it (in the “stupid Instagram brunette” style), also...