FirstLoveMovies

Comparable to The Tree of Wooden Clogs, this film follows the daily happenings of a poor family with three children (two boys and a girl roughly four to eight years of age) living in rural Portugal.

Often painfully slow yet equally detailed, vignettes focus on anything from the kids at play to cleaning up a broken vase; some poetic text fills in the gaps. Arthouse lovers might appreciate, but others are bound to be bored.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0083555/

Ana combines straight-on documentary technique with unexpected flights of dreamlike surrealism. The title character, played by Ana Maria Martins Guerra, is a young Portuguese girl who lives with her grandmother. Through their relationship, we are witness to the Cycle of Life: Grandmother takes care of granddaughter until granddaughter is obliged to do same for grandmother. The scenes between the two protagonists are counterpointed with impressionistic camera compositions based upon famous religious paintings. Ana was impressive enough to earn an American art-house release, a rarity for independently produced Portuguese films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

FLL wrote:...Almost 7 years from REQ to REL.