Anxiety

Oliveira's 1998 anthology boasts a fascinating mirrored structure rooted in the exploration of existential identity. In “The Immortals,” adapted from a Helder Prista Monteiro play, two famous doctors, an 80-year-old father and his 60-year-old son, contemplate senility and death. “Suzy,” derived from an Antonio Patricio story, is set in the 1930s as a young courtesan dies on the operating table, while “Mother of the River” is spawned from an Agustina Bessa-Luis fable about eternal life. Anxiety was selected as the Portuguese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Academy Awards.