Amor Estranho Amor -love Strange Love- -1982- English Dubbed Awesome Movie ((link)) | 2024 |
Khouri, a student of Italian neorealism and European art cinema, shot Love Strange Love like a fever dream. The mansion is drenched in warm, oppressive amber and deep, shadowy blacks. The camera moves slowly, voyeuristically, often framing young Hugo behind banisters or through half-open doors. You feel the heat of Rio and the claustrophobia of the brothel. Even the most controversial scenes are shot with a painterly, melancholic restraint that is light-years away from modern exploitation trash.
: At just 11 years old during filming, he carries the film's emotional core. The role placed him in profoundly controversial situations, a challenge he handled with a surprisingly professional demeanor. He described the experience bluntly: "I learned to separate what was work and what was intimate. But of course there's always a joke, an awkward situation... The movie set is very mystical." Khouri, a student of Italian neorealism and European
: The famous actress Vera Fischer gives an incredible performance as Hugo's mother. She perfectly portrays a woman caught between her love for her son and her life in a corrupt world. Her acting was so strong that she won the Best Actress Award at both the Festival de Brasília and the Air France Awards. You feel the heat of Rio and the
The film’s primary strength, and the source of its enduring controversy, is its unflinching visual language. Khouri, a master of existentialist cinema, uses long takes, lush close-ups, and a hauntingly minimalistic score to trap the viewer inside the brothel’s suffocating walls. The English-dubbed version, often dismissed by purists, inadvertently enhances this surreal quality. The mismatched lip movements and theatrical voice-over performances create a Brechtian alienation effect, reminding audiences that they are watching a constructed nightmare. In this dubbed format, Love Strange Love transcends straightforward exploitation and enters the realm of camp—yet it remains deadly serious. The dissonance between the dubbing’s melodrama and the raw, predatory imagery forces viewers to engage critically rather than passively consume. The role placed him in profoundly controversial situations,
For international audiences, the version of "Amor Estranho Amor" represents a unique viewing experience. While purists generally prefer the original Portuguese audio track to capture the authentic performances of Fischer and Ribeiro, the English dub played a vital role in the film's global underground survival.