Rite of Spring

Oliveira’s stunning work of docufiction—predating Reis’ and Coredeiro’s collaborations by over a decade—signals a predecessor to the reverential and poetic style of filmmaking that would characterize the duo’s latter work. Oliveira, alongside Reis as assistant director, turns his camera to Curalha, a small village in western Portugal, where the local community keeps the fire of a centuries old tradition aflame by performing the Passion of Jesus yearly according to a 16th century text.