The Gilded Cage

José and Maria are a Portuguese couple who have lived in Paris for thirty years. He is a foreman on building sites, she is the concierge of a smart apartment block, and the family lives in a small flat on its ground floor. Then a family vineyard in Portugal comes to them by inheritance. They want to go, and cannot bring themselves to say so. Once word gets out, everyone around them, from their employers to their neighbours, starts looking for a way to keep them. The hypocrisy is what works. People described as indispensable for thirty years suddenly become valuable the moment leaving is a real possibility. It is Ruben Alves's first film, drawn from his own family. It was an unexpected hit in France, selling over a million tickets, and one of the most watched films of the year in Portugal too. Its flaw is that the comedy rests on types and the hard edge of migrant life is softened. Who it is for: viewers who like warm European comedy. Who it is not for: anyone wanting migration treated seriously.