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Fados (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:20
Fresh:19
Rotten:1
Average Rating:7.6/10
Consensus: Even those unfamiliar with the Portuguese soul music at the heart of Carlos Saura's film will find it a beautifully enchanting work of cinema.
Theatrical Release:Mar 6, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: Fados completes the musical trilogy of award-winning Carlos Saura (Flamenco, 1995; Tango, 1998). Using Lisbon as a backdrop, he explores Portugal’s most emblematic musical genre (fado) and its... [More]
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Reviews for Fados
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
 2.5/4 |
The effect is a coldly theatrical counterpoint to the hot-blooded sentiments. MORE REVIEWS bullet See an archive of recent movie reviews bullet Joe's Movie Lounge blog bullet Reel Time forum bullet Movie showtimes bullet Movie theaters Full Review |
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 3/4 |
For those who've never before heard fado, Fados will be a revelation -- a window into a music that (like blues music) can be poetic, heartbreaking, melodramatic and redemptive, all at the same time. Full Review |
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4.5/5 |
If you're disquieted by something in your life, 88 minutes with this collection of Fados will calm your innermost travails, guaranteed. Full Review |
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3.5/5 |
Never is his film less than cinematic. Full Review |
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3/4 |
Fados is basically a collection of musical performances by two dozen practitioners of the form, but Saura always finds a way to make it cinematic. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
[Director] Saura's personal love of fado goes back to his youth, and Fados reflects what is clearly his deeply imaginative, inner relationship with the genre's songs about loss, shifting hopes and elusive happiness. Full Review |
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That you very likely know nothing about who those legends are concerns Saura not at all; made for aficionados, Fados is virtually context-free. Full Review |
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84/100 |
Fados isn't just a director's look at one genre of music, it's a celebration of the special relationship between music, dance and film. Full Review |
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8.75/10 |
A soulful and enchanting celebration of fados that will delight fans both old and new. Full Review |
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3.5/5 |
Will speak to ethnomusicologists and cineastes alike. Full Review |
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3/4 |
In total, there are more than a dozen performance pieces, all stylishly lensed. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
I was familiar with the fado style, but had never heard of any of the performers here, and I still loved this. Full Review |
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8/10 |
Magically, not a traditional tour of the sweet home of fados. . . though some repeated projections become precious, clearly places fados in the world music pantheon. Full Review |
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3.5/5 |
Fados is Carlos Saura’s big-screen film about the musical genre that is the soul music of Portugal. Full Review |
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4/6 |
Carlos Saura’s documentary on the Portuguese musical tradition of fado is an inviting and immersive experience, the third piece of a song-and-dance triptych that also includes Flamenco (1995) and Tango (1998). Full Review |
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Casts a wondrous spell as the third installment of the Spanish director’s musical trilogy, which also includes Flamenco (1995) and Tango (1998). Full Review |
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Saura is formally ambitious -- a troupe travels through the film, articulating lyrics in dance -- but the movie missteps when departing wholly from the intrinsic nostalgia of its subject. Full Review |
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Carlos Saura's valentine to fado, Portugal's blues music, is exciting despite the director's imposition of dance production numbers which add a note of dissonance. Full Review |
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B |
Impressive enough though the least passionate of Carlos Saura's trilogy that includes 'Tango' and 'Flamenco.' Full Review |
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3/4 |
What Fados lacks in jaw-dropping sexiness it makes up for in casual sensuality. Full Review |
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