The 15th Stone

The 15th Stone

Manoel de Oliveira and João Bénard da Costa in a conversation filmed by Rita Azevedo Gomes

2007 · 121 min · ★ 6.5 · Documentary

Joáo Bénard da Costa, director of the Portuguese National Film Archives [deceased in 2009], interviews the dean of contemporaneous film directors [96-years-old then]. Two humanists of different philosophical backgrounds, both with their long, entire lives dedicated to culture in general (music, painting, literature) and to film in particular, discuss freely, sometimes haltingly, the director's power as a creator or a magician, the philosophy beyond particular scenes in classic movies, film technique, the importance of color, sound and music to films, art versus entertainment, and much more. Their talk takes place in a museum room, seating in front of "The Annunciation" (a 1510 oil painting by João Vaz, a Portuguese artist), which eventually leads to a discussion of 'Leonardo da Vinci', and the relationship between a trend-setter master and his disciples.

Directed by Rita Azevedo Gomes

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Manoel de Oliveira Himself
João Bénard da Costa Himself

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3h 32m together

The 15th Stone

Fragile as the World

Both from Rita Azevedo Gomes.

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