Arquivo

Second tribute paid by Manoel de Oliveira to Padre Antônio Vieira. One of Padre Vieira?s sermons from the series dedicated to Saint Anthony, was used in No, or the Vain Glory of Command. This is not a film biography of controversial Padre Vieira, but rather, a courageous document on words, on thought. In 1663, the priest is summoned to stand before the terrible Portuguese Inquisition to explain the ideas he upholds, questioning slavery, the condition of Indians, and Empire-colony relations. Intrigues in the court and a small misunderstanding are enough to weaken his power as a Jesuit priest who was once on familiar terms with the king, Dom João VI. Padre Vieira is on trial and, before the judges, he lays out his past on a clean slate: his youth spent in Brazil, the years as a novice in Bahia, his involvement in the cause of the Indians, and his first success in the pulpit. Forbidden by the Inquisition to speak in public, he seeks refuge in Rome where he attains an enormous reputation and success.