Passionada (2002)

Director:

Dan Ireland

Writers:

David Bakalar (story)
Jim Jermanok (screenplay) ...

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

Vicky wants what's best for her mother. Charlie's close enough.

Plot:

The film is a romantic comedy about a Portuguese widow whose husband had been a fisherman who died at sea...

Cast

Jason Isaacs	...	Charles Beck
Sofia Milos	...	Celia Amonte
Emmy Rossum	...	Vicky Amonte
Theresa Russell	...	Lois Vargas
Lupe Ontiveros	...	Angelica Amonte
Seymour Cassel	...	Daniel Vargas
Chris Tardio	...	Gianni Martinez
Benjamin Mouton	...	Frankie the Pit Boss
Robert Montano	...	Father Emmanuel
Luis Colina	...	Anthony
Bill Burr	...	Blackjack Player
Russ Vigilante	...	Roberto
Anthero Montenegro	...	Joseph Amonte
George Gund	...	Fisherman
Shawn Fitzgerald	...	Blackjack Dealer

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sensuality and a conversation about drugs.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Germany:o.Al. | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Sandyo Productions

Trivia:

The perfume that Vicky uses before entering the casino is labeled "Passionada".

Goofs:

Most of the Portuguese ethnic and cultural references - except the 'Fado' songs (by Mísia) - are flawed: - the title is not correct - in Portuguese it would be "Apaixonada". - none of the character's names are typically Portuguese (Celia, Amonte, Angelica, Gianni Martinez) - Celia prepares a Spanish Paella for Jason - at the street parade, the song is not the Portuguese folk-song the people are dancing on the background - the dance scene is under the spell of a Brazilian Soft-Samba. - "Granny" in Portuguese is "Vovó"

Quotes:

Charlie: You left me speechless!

Fado means fate in Portuguese

Passionada (2002), directed by Dan Ireland, is a love story that will either fascinate or frustrate you. Some have called Passionada formulaic, and the film certainly begins with boy meets girl and continues from there, but I bought into the film and the love story, and I enjoyed the movie.

Although the basic plot is not subtle, the sense of the Portuguese ethnic community in New Bedford is well portrayed, and the singing of fado--central to the story--is wonderful. (The young fadista Misia provides the fado singing for Sofia Milos--the film is worth seeing for the music alone.)

Sofia Milos portrays a beautiful young widow. Much is made of the fact that she doesn't look old enough to be the mother of Emmy Rossum, who was 16 when the movie was filmed. Actually, Milos could be the mother of a 16-year-old, but she's so youthful and attractive that it's hard to think of her as the somewhat older and wiser woman she's supposed to be portraying.

Anyway, who cares? If you want to see a movie with gritty realism about the hardships of widowhood or the fishing industry, see a different film. If you want to see a love story set in scenic New Bedford, and accompanied by the fado, see Passionada.