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(Be)Longing

Name: (Be)Longing
Director: João Pedro Plácido
Released: 2015
Duration: 78 min

Representation Score

1.4/10

Minimal

2015

Director

João Pedro Plácido

Runtime

78 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

*(Be)Longing* serves as a poetic, ethnographic study of a vanishing way of life in the Portuguese mountains. It prioritizes the preservation of traditional norms, religious faith, and social structures over contemporary identity-based discussions. The film's strength lies in its observational documentation of communal solidarity and the connection to place. It captures a specific cultural heritage through a meditative lens. However, the work lacks engagement with the overlapping aspects of identity. By focusing on the continuity of traditional institutions and homogeneous regional identities, it avoids the systemic challenges often found in modern progressive cinema.

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Category Breakdown

Does (Be)Longing have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses on a traditional romantic relationship between a man and a woman. It does not include characters with non-binary gender identities or stories that question the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender.

How does (Be)Longing portray gender?

Fair

The story highlights traditional roles within a family across generations. It emphasizes conventional relationships in a rural setting without challenging gender hierarchies.

How racially and ethnically diverse is (Be)Longing?

Limited

The cast reflects the homogeneous ethnic makeup of a small Portuguese mountain village. The film focuses on the unique, local culture of this specific community.

How does (Be)Longing represent religion and culture?

Limited

The community places strong emphasis on religious faith, leaving their lives in God's hands. The film values traditional stability and ancestral continuity over secular or progressive viewpoints.

Does (Be)Longing include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no indication that disability, neurodivergence, or chronic illness plays a central role or significant narrative element in this documentary.

Present on Screen

Provides a poetic, meditative documentation of a specific, vanishing cultural heritage.
Offers an authentic ethnographic look at communal solidarity and ancestral ways of life.

Limited or Absent

Lacks engagement with contemporary discussions on overlapping aspects of identity.
Does not challenge or subvert traditional social, religious, or gender hierarchies.

Official Synopsis

At Uz, an isolated hamlet in the northern mountains of Portugal, four generations live together in a group of around fifty people. When life is rough, solidarity is of the highest order. Everything else is left in God’s hands. They could have emigrated, like so many others, but chose to stay and keep their ancestral way of life, away from the racket of modernity.

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