Aníbal Milhais was Portugal’s most decorated soldier of World War I, winning the nickname “Soldado Milhōes,” “A Soldier Worth a Million Men,” for the extraordinary bravery and tenacity he exhibited at the April 1918 Battle of the Lys in Flanders. Manning a machine-gun, he held off a massed assault by the Germans while other members of his squad escaped to safety, and then wandered alone behind enemy lines for days, saving stragglers by taking on German patrols and rescuing a Scottish major from a river while making his way back to his comrades.
This 2018 biographical tribute, directed by Gonçalo Galvão Teles and Jorge Paixão da Costa, falls into two parts. One, in which Milhais is played by João Arrais, recreates his wartime experiences, which include not only rather small-scaled battle sequences but fairly typical scenes of interaction with comrades-in-arms, including the stern officer who bestows his nickname on him after he rejoins the company.
Much is made of Aníbal’s devotion to the Virgin Mary, to whom he prayed before his departure, and his faithfulness to Teresa (Filipa Louceiro), the girlfriend he left behind. He also spends time in a field hospital after his eyes are injured in an explosion that occurs while his squad is happily watching a film starring Charlie Chaplin.
This wartime material is juxtaposed with scenes depicting Aníbal’s later life in his home village of Valongo, in which he is played by Miguel Borges as a modest man reluctant to wear his military medals even at the ceremony in which the village was renamed after him. These sequences are dominated by his loving relationship with his daughter Adelaide (Carminho Coelho), who pesters him with questions about his service that he deflects with an attitude of disdain for politicians who send young men to die in war.
This portion of the film is largely given over to an account of Aníbal’s taking up his rifle again to hunt down a wolf that has been attacking the family's sheep; when Adelaide follows him and he is injured in a fall, both must depend on their survival skills to get home safely.
The script’s use of this incident as a counterpoint to the younger Milais’ wartime exploits is more than a little heavy-handed, especially since Coelho’s performance is rather wooden, but the episode does serve to emphasize Milhais’ courage in the face of a formidable foe, whether human or animal.
In addition to the Portuguese original with optional English subtitles, the disc also offers a dubbed English version. Though the sole extra is a trailer, this can be considered a strong optional purchase.