It's one of those TV movies that TV station SIC broadcasted ten years ago inserted in a nice project called "SIC films", which consisted in making a good number of TV movies to promote Portuguese cinema. It's a shame that this project has ended, because I think it was very good. It was really nice to regularly have a new Portuguese film on TV.
Many of those films weren't great for sure, but a few were very good. 88 is one of them! In fact, what really called my attention to this film was its director, Edgar Pêra. I watched some years ago one other film from him called A JANELA (MARYALVA MIX) and I was absolutely astonished with his directing and the surreal and bizarre cinematography of his work. 88 was made after but it also has a surreal atmosphere. It's a different kind of movie though. While A JANELA was an abstract and experimental journey into the typical neighborhoods of Lisbon to search ANTONIO in an absolutely weird and atypical plot, 88 has in fact a linear and well defined plot, with a structured story and characters. It's not as far as experimental as the other movie, but hey, it's a TV movie remember? For a TV film (film to the masses) it's quite artistic and surreal!
The plot begins when a 14 years old kid, addicted to videogames, goes with his parents to a shopping mall and separates from them to go to a games store called UTOPYA. He never came back. His parents get in despair but he really disappeared. Time passes by and four years later his father finds out a new clue that will change the development of the plot
What seemed to be just a kidnapping story turned into something very different
His son was not who they think he was, as this kid who disappeared four years ago is now a leader of a neo-Nazi gang! So this film is not really about a kidnapping story but about fascist gangs and their (foolish!) ideals! It's a big twist in the plot, but it's well done. I just didn't appreciated some pseudo-dramatic scenes near the end. But even so it ends in a good way (a bit predictable, but good).
However, what I most enjoyed in this film was the surreal cinematography and the way Edgar Pêra uses the camera. In fact he does some great plans and shots! The way this guy turns a "common story" into something absolutely surreal and bizarre is also amazing! The distorted sounds, the weird scenarios, the bizarre and enigmatic characters, some facial expressions, the fast and unusual pace of some scenes
it's all features that make his cinematography quite peculiar and unique.
Since I've watch A JANELA (MARYALVA MIX) I'm always expecting a lot from this director, so I also was expecting a lot of this 88. It didn't disappointed me, but it's not as good as the first one. I must be fair though: it's a different film conceived to a different purpose (and target) so it could never be as experimental as A JANELA
I enjoyed it and I score it 9/10, mostly because of the cinematography and the surreal ambiance.
