O Banqueiro Anarquista (1981)

Part of the medium-length films for TV Lisboa Sociedade Anónima, O Banqueiro Anarquista is a fine example of what a fabulous script (by Pessoa), exuberant set design, attentive camera work, and an actor (Santos Manuel) at his most daring and accomplished can achieve. The result is a cynically entertaining film, markedly representative of the First Republic, where for almost an hour the viewer is delighted (and unsettled, of course) by the fallacies of a script to which Santos Manuel gives the weight of a body and a voice, that is, he brings it to life. The Anarchist Banker is a brilliant satire on political discourse, of unfailing intelligence and ferocity.