Best Portuguese drama movies
Get ready to binge. We've found a collection of must-watch drama films from Portugal, now streaming on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Prime Video, and other top services!
The Nothing Factory (2017)
The Nothing Factory (2017)
One night, a group of workers realises that the administration is stealing machines and raw materials from their own factory. As they organize to survey the equipment and block the relocation of production, they are forced to stand at their posts with no work to do, as a form of retaliation, while negotiations over general lay-offs take place. The pressure leads to a breakdown of the workers along with the world around them.
Variações: Guardian Angel (2019)
Variações: Guardian Angel (2019)
Film biography dwelling on the hectic artistic life of António Variações, a famous Portuguese pop rock singer from the 80s, who died from AIDS-related complications in 1984.
April Captains (2000)
April Captains (2000)
Story of the 1974 coup that overthrew the right-wing Portuguese dictatorship--which continued the fascist policies of long-time dictator Antonio Salazar--and of two young army captains who were involved in it.
Aniki-Bóbó (1942)
Aniki-Bóbó (1942)
Two schoolboys, Carlitos and Eduardo, fight for the affection of a girl, Teresinha.
Soldier Millions (2018)
Soldier Millions (2018)
A Portuguese soldier, who got stranded from his team during the La Lys battle, struggles by himself through dozens of German offensives so he can guarantee the safety of his companions.
The Domain (2019)
The Domain (2019)
The chronicle of a Portuguese family that owns one of the largest estates in Europe, on the south bank of the River Tagus. The Domain delves deeply into the secrets of their homestead, portraying the historical, political, economic and social life of Portugal, since the 1940's to these days.
Out in the Open (2019)
Out in the Open (2019)
A boy escaped from home, listening, crouched in the depths of his hiding place, the cries of the men who seek him. When the game passes, what remains before him is an infinite and arid plain that he must cross if he wants to get away definitively from what has made him flee. His steps will intersect with those of a pastor and, from that moment, nothing will be the same for either of them.
No, or the Vain Glory of Command (1990)
No, or the Vain Glory of Command (1990)
Episodes from throughout the entire military history of Portugal are told through flashbacks as a conscripted student of history recounts them to his fellow soldiers while they march through an African colony in revolt during 1973.
Backlight (2010)
Backlight (2010)
Several characters who are each at critical stages of their lives are strangely impelled towards an uncharted lake in the middle of the desert where they all have the opportunity to save each other.
Letters from War (2016)
Letters from War (2016)
In 1971, António Lobo Antunes' life is brutally interrupted when he is drafted into the Portuguese Army to serve as a doctor in one of the worst zones of the Colonial War – the East of Angola. Away from everything dear he writes letters to his wife while he is immersed in an increasingly violent setting. While he moves between several military posts he falls in love for Africa and matures politically. At his side, an entire generation struggles and despairs for the return home. In the uncertainty of war events, only the letters can make him survive.
Blood (1989)
Blood (1989)
Nino, tough but sickly, and his older brother Vicente live in the country with their father. After their father disappears ― we’re never sure why ― murder is suggested. Vicente brings his girlfriend to the house, and a different kind of family is established as the three youngsters grow fiercely protective of each other. But their uncle grows suspicious about the fate of the missing father and forcibly kidnaps Nino, taking him away to the city and leaving Vicente to locate him there.
Bem Bom (2021)
Bem Bom (2021)
It is 1979. Four young ladies are hired to form a girl band. They can sing, they shine with their dancing, and they shock the country. They become a big hit. They are DOCE.
The Maias: Story of a Portuguese Family (2014)
The Maias: Story of a Portuguese Family (2014)
The tragedy and comedy in Carlos' life begins, grows and ends like the tragedy and comedy of Portugal. In the company of his close friend, João da Ega, allegedly a brilliant writer, Carlos, with his idle existence as an aristocratic doctor, spends his time to enjoying friends and lovers. Until he falls in love. She is a new character in this revolutionary novel. It's a vertiginous passion that goes beyond that past gloominess to reach a new and darker abyss, incest.
The Forest of the Lost Souls (2017)
Catarina and the others (2011)
Catarina and the others (2011)
Outside, the first sun rays break the dawn. Sixteen years old Catarina can't fall asleep. Inconsequently, in the big city adults are moved by desire... Catarina found she is HIV positive. She wants to drag everyone else along.
Quarta Divisão (2013)
Quarta Divisão (2013)
The film tells the story of Martin, a child of nine years, who one day disappears from private school where he studied. Police mounted a major search operation across the city to find him. All hypotheses are possible: What happened?
Infinite Sea (2021)
Infinite Sea (2021)
In a parallel world Pedro tries to hack his way into joining an exodus to another planet. While he dwells in his dreams and frustrations of being left behind he meets Eva, who challenges him and forces him to come to terms with his purpose.
Blood'less' Revolution (2024)
Blood'less' Revolution (2024)
In 1974, a group of men lost their lives in what is still called today the Bloodless Revolution of Portugal.
Arabian Nights: Volume 1, The Restless One (2015)
Arabian Nights: Volume 1, The Restless One (2015)
Every night, in danger of being beheaded, Scheherazade tells King Shahryar unfinished tales to continue them the following night, hence defying his promise of murdering his new wives after their wedding night. Scheherazade tells King Shahryar her stories but these are not those in the book. As in the book, these stories are tragic and comical, with rich and poor, powerless and powerful people, filled with surprising and extraordinary events.
20.13: Purgatory (2006)
20.13: Purgatory (2006)
Mozambique, 1969. What was meant to be a peaceful Christmas Eve ends up badly as a group of soldiers brings home a prisoner that will be murdered. Simultaneously, the Capitan's wife arrives in surprise, bringing along a Priest, who is supposed to celebrate the mass.
The Best of All Worlds (2024)
The Best of All Worlds (2024)
Lisbon, 2027. Marta and Miguel are both researchers that are part of a scientific group and a couple in their private lives. Their relationship will be put to the test on one decisive night when the parameters that Marta is analyzing point to the very high probability of a major earthquake hitting Lisbon. The group splits, debating whether or not to warn the population of the possible impending tragedy.
1618 (2023)
1618 (2023)
The Inquisition continues the persecution of Portuguese Jews, sending Visitador Sebastião Noronha to the city of Oporto. With his family and community in danger, António Álvares, decides to outline an escape plan.
To Die Like a Man (2009)
Wolf Child (2022)
Wolf Child (2022)
In a terrifying Portuguese village, there is a legend. The legend of the wolf child. Desired and born on a full moon night, it all started when a young peasant girl, desperate for a child, asked a creature of the forest for a wish. The desire? A child she could call hers. But the forest creature curses the woman. When grow up, the child will bring teeth and blood to the village. Years pass, the child becomes a man, tormented and persecuted by the villagers, torn between his animalistic nature and a friendship with a young witch. The boy has to find out who, or what, he is. Together, the wolf child and the witch will try to break the curse and find their place in the world. 16 years after "Coisa Ruim", Frederico Serra returns to the legends and traditions of deep Portugal.
A Talking Picture (2003)
A Talking Picture (2003)
A meditation on civilization. July, 2001: friends wave as a cruise ship departs Lisbon for Mediterranean ports and the Indian Ocean. On board and on day trips in Marseilles, Pompeii, Athens, Istanbul, and Cairo, a professor tells her young daughter about myth, history, religion, and wars. Men approach her; she's cool, on her way to her husband in Bombay. After Cairo, for two evenings divided by a stop in Aden, the captain charms three successful, famous (and childless) women, who talk with wit and intellect, each understanding the others' native tongue, a European union. The captain asks mother and child to join them. He gives the girl a gift. Helena sings. Life can be sweet.
The Crime of Father Amaro (2005)
The Crime of Father Amaro (2005)
O Crime do Padre Amaro ("The Crime of Father Amaro") is a novel by the 19th-century Portuguese writer José Maria de Eça de Queiroz. It was first published in 1875 to great controversy.