Two people and an encounter in a place that isn‘t home; foreign and attractive to both of them. Jake is an American and does all kinds of odd jobs; Mati is a French archaeology student. They meet at an excavation site near Porto, and later on again in the city where they both live. It‘s the story of one night and how it lives on in memory over many years. Gabe Klinger, who also works as a film critic and curator and who recently made a film about James Benning and Richard Linklater, depicts sedimented feelings, beginning with the aging Jake who can‘t let go. He replays the experience from both perspectives slowly and layer after layer. Each uncovering involves a story rewrite. The montage returns to moments to tell them anew from different perspectives with a different weight, adding events that preceded it and followed it. The gestures and looks and the words and yearnings that they bring forth converge and diverge. Jake, played by Anton Yelchin in his last role with a striking mix of charm, naivety, and forlornness, foresees happiness that turns out to be unattainable. Fitting to the theme of memory, PORTO is shot on 8, 16, and 35mm. The different formats connote their different physical states. PORTO creates a very unique emotional state of nostlagia, with desire that is inherently frustrating from the start.

Sebastian Markt

Translation: Elinor Lewy