Avelina Prat (director)
(studio)
12A (certificate)
114 (length)
02 October 2026 (released)
5 h
Mild mannered geography teacher Fernando (Manolo Solo) returns home to find that his wife is not in the flat. After a few days, and no contact he goes to the police. With the few details he can furnish them he’s informed that she’s returned to Serbia. And there’s nothing they can do if she has decided to break all contact. Its no comfort to be told it’s not an unusual occurrence.
A bewildered Fernando takes a break in Portugal where he meets Manuel (Xavi Mira) an itinerant gardener. A friendship of sorts is established only for Manuel to peacefully pass away at breakfast.
An opportunist thought and act sees Fernando take Manuel’s coat and ID and travel to his next job. As a gardener in a large estate in Portugal. The owner Amalia (Maria de Medeiros) has some suspicions but takes Fernando/Manuel on. He quickly establishes himself building a good rapport with Amalia and her help around the house Rita (Rita Cabaço).
Slow, well-mannered, and comfy, The Portuguese House, directed by Avelina Prat and co-written with Clara Serrano Llorens, unfolds as the years pass. Manuel becomes fluent in Portuguese and is firmly established in the community. Yet his past returns as a result of a wager.
The film’s unlikely switch in the third act, feels incongruous and just about works due to Moreno's (who passed away in July 2026) empathetic performance as he begins to understand and tie up the loose ends of his past.
There’s no judgement from Prat and Lorens; the main characters made the decisions they did and have to live with the consequences as they try to move on.
It may in the end, the story may come together to well, twee and with no wrinkles. But suspending disbelief now and then is part and parcel of going to the cinema.
The Portuguese House is out now in UK Cinemas.
