The Portuguese House
The Portuguese House is a 2025 drama film written and directed by Avelina Prat. It stars Manolo Solo, Maria de Medeiros, and Branka Katić. It is a Spanish and Portuguese co-production.
The film had its world premiere at the 28th Málaga Film Festival on 17 March 2025 ahead of its theatrical release in Spain on 9 May 2025 by Filmax and in Portugal on 31 July 2025 by NOS Audiovisuais.
Plot
Gutted by the disappearance of his Serbian wife, Fernando, a disoriented geography university lecturer from Barcelona, acquaints with Spanish gardener Manuel. He ends up in a Portuguese quinta, impersonating the gardener and establishing a friendship with the owner of the estate, the mysterious and warm Amalia.Production
The film is a Distinto Films co-production with O Som e a Fúria, Jaibo Films, and Almendros Blancos AIE and it had the participation of RTVE, 3Cat, À Punt, and RTP. It was shot in between Barcelona and Quinta da Aldeia, a quinta in Ponte de Lima.Release
The film was presented at the 28th Málaga Film Festival on 17 March 2025. It also made it to the international competition strand of the 26th BAFICI, to the 25th European Film Festival program held in conjunction with 8th Malaysia International Film Festival, to the main programme of the 53rd Norwegian International Film Festival, and to the international competition lineup of the 21st Santiago International Film Festival. It was released theatrically in Spain on 9 May 2025 by Filmax. By 1 June 2025, it had grossed €530,940 at the Spanish box office.Desforra Apache handled distribution in Portugal. A 31 July 2025 date was set for the film's theatrical release in Portugal.
Reception
Alfonso Rivera of Cineuropa deemed the film to be "a delightful, enigmatic fable that restores our faith in an ill-fated humanity".Andrea G. Bermejo of Cinemanía rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, considering that the mise-en-scène features "a delightful elegance and attention to detail, displaying a prosaic and at the same time poetic narrative economy".
Raquel Hernández Luján of HobbyConsolas gave the film 67 points, declaring it "a beautiful and humanistic film that reflects a kindness rarely seen in cinema", yet warning that if you like movies with pace, the film is not for you.
Javier Ocaña of El País described the film as a "mysterious film with deep literary flavour, without ceasing to be excellent cinema".