The Green Years

At age 19, Júlio (Rui Gomes) leaves the countryside and moves to Lisbon, where he begins working as a shoemaker at his uncle Raúl’s shop. His arrival in the city leads to new discoveries, including his love for Ilda (Isabel Ruth), a young maid who frequents the shop. Paulo Rocha’s debut film—and one of the founding works of the New Portuguese Cinema—The Green Years offers a tender yet disillusioned portrait of youth and 1960s Lisbon. It is also inseparable from the original score by Carlos Paredes, his first composition for film.