rick morrow The true meaning of romance can be found, seen and felt in this film. One only needs to look into the eyes of the Celia and Charles and listen to their words and feel the passion they both express to be loved. Sofio Milos does a magnificent portrayal of a Portuguese woman who once found love with a man that only a few would ever find and after his death she knew it would be her last gift. In steps Charles and as far as Celia is concerned, he doesn't really exist because of her love for her husband and honor, would not allow any other man in her life. With a little help from her daughter and the persistence of Charles driven by is on own passion to win Celia's heart, to be loved again.

Lady_Phantom ****SPOILER WARNING**** I'm not really one for romantic comedies but I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Though the romantic comedy thing might be a bit misleading (sadly not very much comedy but it's fine) it was a familiar storyline told in a different and unique way.The characters were absolutely wonderful people; ESPECIALLY Emmy Rossum's portrayal of Vicky. Vicky is just irresistible in this movie, so full of life and youth, and yet she cares so deeply for her mother. I know Emmy Rossum will be acting for a long time to come. A jewel among actresses indeed! Her scenes were very believable (not that any of the other's scenes weren't) but I ended up enjoying her performance most of all.Every character proves that we are only human and are prone to fate and bad things but we just need to get that boost right back up onto our feet. The movie tells it's story well, with great direction and SUPERB scenery.But there was one scene I had a problem with. The love scene with Celia and Charles. It just came way too soon. They were only seeing each other for such a short time, they hardly even kissed yet, and then during dinner only THEN do they kiss. Then they end up sleeping together? For a woman who is still mourning over her deceased husband and doesn't want to date again, she sure contradicts herself. It came just much too soon. I would have enjoyed it better if it had come much later. True though, I do not control the character but still, it would have made more sense to me if it came later, not when they were almost still strangers to each other.However, the music was very enjoyable and lovely, and it's not just the scenes where Celia is singing. It's also that beautiful, twinkling piano music that just floats around in some scenes and sets a wonderful mood.All in all, I'd give it a 9/10. A very deserving movie indeed! A must-have for romantics!

tedg You may be interested in this merely because Emmy Rossum is so appealing. She has one of those accidental faces that's somewhat over-sized featurewise. But like others (Kyra, Julia) she can light up the area with her smile. But she has more natural range and appeal than they do. And she's helped by another natural, Theresa Russell.But this story is a disaster. You can see how the writer worked: to the ordinary story of single mother seeking love from a pretender while daughter watches they add stuff. And what stuff: threads about gambling, fishing, cooking, singing and "Latin" love. But none of these threads go anywhere, none of them connect with each other or the main story. The result is a mess. The DVD has an original ending that is entirely apt in its discontinuity, and an accompanying commentary that expresses disgust over that same disconnectedness. Amazing.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Claudio Carvalho In a Portuguese fishing colony, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the widow singer of "Fado" Célia Amonte (Sofia Milos) has been grieving the death of her beloved fisherman husband for seven years. She lives with her teenager daughter Vicky (Emmy Rossum), and her mother-in-law is her neighbor next door. The English gambler Charles Beck, who is spending some days with his wealthy friends Daniel Vargas (Seymour Cassel) and Lois (Theresa Russell), falls in love with her, and lies about his past to conquer the love of Célia. "Passionada" is a nice romance. Indeed, it is literally a delicious romance, with many Portuguese and Spanish dishes, which made me feel hungry. The story is predictable, but a great entertainment, and the cast is very attractive. I glanced some reviews in IMDb, and I really found very funny comments. First of all, the Portuguese spoken along the movie is from Portugal. There is a joker, who wrote that the accent was from Brazil, but only the Portuguese people who live in Brazil has that accent (just in time, my grandmother was Portuguese and I am Brazilian, so I can tell about accents). I do not know Spanish, but "Passionada" is neither a Portuguese nor an English word. I believe that it might be a combination of the English word "Passion" (from Charles Beck, the English card player) with "Apaixonada" (from Portuguese, meaning in love), with the author playing with words. Célia prepares many dishes of fish and seafood for Charles, and she has never mentioned that they are Portuguese dishes (inclusive one of them is from Mozambique). There are dozens of ways of preparing "bacalhau" (codfish), and not only oven-made, and the "bolinhos de bacalhau" (codfish cakes) are perfect. Indeed, Paella is a typical Spanish dish, but her intention is to show Charles different meals she was able to cook. In accordance with IMDb information, Sofia Milos was born in Zurich, Switzerland, and not in Greece. At the street parade, the song is sang with the Portuguese of Portugal accent. The song, when they dance is "A Felicidade", a Brazilian "bossa nova" of Vinicious de Morais and Tom Jobim (it is not a "samba", or "soft???-samba"). It is amazing the number of nonsense I read about this movie in IMDb. The alternative end is horrible and fortunately was deleted. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): This DVD is not available in Brazil.