While Meirelles had envisioned shooting the film in the novel's Portuguese when he first tried to acquire the rights, the realities of today's international film market mean that "if you do it in English you can sell it to the whole world and have a bigger audience." And while the film is in many ways an ensemble effort, Moore, whom the director praises for being "at the same time very economical and very expressive, with such a range," gives an exceptional performance as a character who metamorphoses in front of our eyes.
Daunting as starting Cannes with this film is for Meirelles, what is to come is even more so. Saramago had wanted to be at the festival for the premiere, but his doctors hadn't allowed him to travel. So the director is flying to Lisbon on Saturday to show him the film. "That's the screening I'm really afraid of," he says. "Two thousand people at the Grand Palais is not a big thing compared to Saramago's opinion."
