O Fantasma


O Fantasma is a 2000 Portuguese erotic drama film directed by João Pedro Rodrigues and produced by the independent production company Rosa Filmes.

Premise

Young and handsome Sérgio works the night shift as a trash collector in Lisbon. He is uninterested in his pretty female co-worker Fatima, who displays an avid interest in him, so instead Sérgio roams the city. Eventually Sérgio becomes fascinated with a sleek motorcycle and its arrogant owner—a young man completely indifferent to Sérgio. Sérgio's surfacing desires unleash his darkest impulses, sending him down a dangerous path of violence, depravity, and degradation.

Cast

  • Ricardo Meneses as Sérgio
  • Beatriz Torcato as Fátima
  • André Barbosa as João
  • Eurico Vieira as Virgílio
  • Jorge Almeida as police officer
  • Joaquim Oliveira as Mário
  • Florindo Lourenço as Matos
  • Maria Paola Porru as João's mother

    Reception

The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. It won the prize for Best Feature Film in the New York Lesbian & Gay Film Festival and the Entrevues Film Festival. Meneses was nominated for the 2001 Portuguese Golden Globe award for Best Leading Actor.