SIGNS OF FIRE (SINAIS DE FOGO) European Union Film Showcase

1936: Engineering student Diogo Infante
arrives at his aunt and uncle’s seaside
town for· his summer vacation, reuniting
with old flame Ruth Gabriel and assorted
schoolmates, even as all the Spanish
tourists leave amid the looming Civil War.
It is not long before the police of Salazar’s
Portuguese dictatorship start rounding up
the Spaniards who can’t afford to go
back. Even lnfante’s apolitical, idealistic
romanticism can’t keep him from corruption
as the betrayals and the character
reversals start to proliferate. Outstanding
sets and costuming highlight the typically
superb period flavor of Filipe Rocha’s
work (his previous film was set in turn-ofthe-
century Macao). With director
Joaquim Leitao as the Communist.
Michael Jeck, AF/ Washington D.C.