Manuel on the Island of Wonders (1984)
Manoel dans l’île des merveilles (original title)
2h 10 min | Drama, Fantasy | TV Mini-Series (1984– )
Storyline:
Manuel’s fantasy travel through Time goes from Long Ago (Episode 1 – O jardim proibido / Le Jardin interdit) through Now (Episode 2 – O pique-nique dos sonhos / Le Pique-nique des rêves), arriving in the Future (Episode 3 – A pequena champeã de xadrez / La Petite Championne d’échecs).
User review:
This Portuguese mini-series is extremely rare. There was a translated version shown on Australian TV only once. If you can, try to find a copy of this broadcast. It’s worth it.
This three episode series comprises the adventures of a young boy. They each play out like a fairy tale. The mood is very light and dreamy. The stories are great and very unique. The first two episodes are fairly straight forward, but the third is quite hard to understand. It doesn’t really matter though, because the mood and the visuals are what makes the them so good.
Its hard to describe… the series is not action oriented, but it is fast paced. It left me with the feeling that, even though I had just watched it, I had heard these stories as a child and were remembering them years later. This is definitely worthwhile. If you ever get a chance to see Manoel on the Isle of Marvels, do it. It’s a shame to let this series fade into oblivion.
Stars: Ruben de Freitas, Teresa Madruga, Fernando Heitor
Country: Portugal | France
Language: French | Portuguese
Release Date: 1984 (Portugal)
Also Known As: Aventure au Madeira
Filming Locations: Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089018/