Le sang d'un poète (Jean Cocteau, 1930)

"Its exegeses were innumerable. If I were questioned about any one of them, I would have trouble in answering.

(...)

Several young people declare that they prefer the dullest reality to such fantasies. Others condemn the film for sacrileges that did not even skim the surface of my mind. Others find wonders in it that I myself would have liked to have put there. Others accuse it of eccentricity. The only valid opinion is that of the technicians. They all agree that the images are lasting and fresh."

— Jean Cocteau

La fille de l'eau (Jean Renoir, 1925)

Arena (II)

Arena (João Salaviza, 2009)

Assured, vibrant and intelligent, it hardly feels like the work of a first time director, and despite it being a mere 15 minutes long, it signals the emergence of an exciting new talent in Portuguese cinema.