Porto could almost qualify as a remake of Richard Linklater’s plotless 1995 romantic walk-a-thon Before Sunrise, the talky twentysomething drama featuring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Here, Hawke’s conversationally indulgent character is replaced by the late Anton Yelchin’s childlike vulnerability and quiet-guy bohemian brooding as Jake, a privileged 26-year-old drifter floating around Europe who happens to be in Porto when he has an improbable hook-up with Mati (Lucie Lucas), a gorgeous Sorbonne-educated archeologist, in a local cafe. Although Jake is a man of few words, all of his tentative patter directed at Mati seems impossibly cloying; still, thirtysomething Mati, who could have her pick of any man in Europe, chooses to sleep with the tiresome Jake. Of course, Jake falls in love immediately, while behind Mati’s façade viewers know that she’s just marking time until Mr. Right comes along. The true star of the movie is the cinematography, which beautifully captures Porto’s neon-lit nighttime café culture as well as its broader scenic appeal. Unfortunately, the human element is sadly lacking. Optional. (M. Sandlin)
Porto
Kino Lorber, 76 min., in English, French & Portuguese w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $34.95, Mar. 13 Vol. 33, Issue 3
Porto
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