Maria (the title role written for Maria de Medeiros) and her two very different brothers Mario and Joao (to accentuate the difference, Joao is played by Russian actor Evgeni Sidihin) have a tight bond. So tight that when they are separated, Marian’s life scarcely seems to make sense. The ties between Maria and her brothers contrasts starkly with the difficult relationship between Maria and her invalid and alcoholic father. Her fragile shoulders also have to bear the burden of the housekeeping. tries through Maria to provide a picture of the situation in which young people find themselves these days. Villaverde combines this realistic picture of Lisbon with a story and a style that verge on melodrama and sometimes even opera. Just like in an opera, the far-reaching stylisation is sometimes combined with an emphasis on fierce emotions.
