A Espada e a Rosa

Manuel is 31 and a freelance journalist. He lives in a working class area of Lisbon where the houses – as old and decrepit as their inhabitants – are the cheapest. His daily life is repetitive and lonely, on account of the casual jobs he has to do and which he does without much motivation in front of his computer screen. The objects with which he fills a red chest each day, a flying visit to an underground laboratory, and his enthusiasm at receiving certain cybernetic messages are all signs that he has a plan. After having found a new master for his cat and undergone an unusual series of physical tests, it is without drama or emotion that he announces to his family that he will be leaving for an indeterminate period of time...