The Movement of Things

The documentary was filmed in a village in northern Portugal. The village is called Lanheses. The camera follows the daily work of three families. Fields, animals, kitchens and roads. There is little speech and a great deal of silence. The account passes no comment; it only watches. Isabel stands apart from the others. Her eye is on a life further ahead. For the rest, living is meaning enough. Time runs differently in the village. The same work repeats every day. The film looks for the change inside that repetition. The shooting was done over the winters of 1979 and 1980. The production could only be finished in 1985. It is the only film Manuela Serra directed. The ninety minute documentary was restored and shown again years later, a Portuguese production finished in 1985.