Scenes from the Class Struggle in Portugal

After Milestones caused a sensation in Cannes, Kramer travelled to Portugal with Philip Spinelli to experience the radical changes following the Carnation Revolution in April 1974. ‘Robert Kramer and his group didn't come as tourists, nor to teach anyone any lessons. They came to observe, to understand and to live here. And above all, to love.’ (Isabel do Carmo, co-founder of the Brigadas Revolucionárias) Scenes from the Class Struggle in Portugal shows the euphoria brought about by the social upheaval and gives mothers, farmers, workers and soldiers a chance to have their say. The film, which was completed in 1976, is followed by a sobering epilogue from November 1978: the achievements of the revolution have been wiped out, the land reform has been revised, leftists are in prison. ‘A return of the language (mentality) of Salazar's fascism. But in 1974, Portugal was the freest country in the world.’ For Kramer, Scenes marks the beginning of the second phase of his career, which also ends ten years later in Portugal with Doc's Kingdom. (Volker Pantenburg)

Courtesy Cinemateca Portuguesa

Photo: Austrian Film Museum