Movies Similar to A Poorly Told Story

Operation Portugal(2021)

Hakim, 35, a friendly neighborhood cop, must infiltrate the Portuguese community for the purpose of an investigation. But can one become Portuguese in three days? Especially when we know that Hakim is a walking disaster at undercover operations. His clumsiness and bad luck turn his many infiltrations into cataclysms. The case is clearly too big for him. Quickly trapped between his feelings and his mission, Hakim, who lives alone with his mother, will discover a community, but also a family.

Betrayed Women(2007)

Two married people fall in love and everything else breaks apart. A infidelities story told in a female voice.

The State I Am In(2001)

Clara and Hans are left-wing terrorists who have been sought by police for almost fifteen years. Their increasingly rebellious daughter Jeanne begins to pose a threat to their security when she falls in love with a boy she meets on the beach.

Between Waves(2020)

Professional photographer Jamie's quantum physicist boyfriend Isaac has gone missing, and is presumed dead. Haunted by his disappearance while attempting to continue with life as normal, Jamie gets more and more wrapped up in figuring out exactly what happened, and is convinced that his disappearance has something to do with Isaac’s research into parallel dimensions. She continues to pursue him until she collides with a shattering revelation.

Cockles and Muscles(2005)

Crustacés et coquillages is a fresh French comedy film with numerous surprise turnarounds and about the tolerance of a family of four. The family spend an idealistic summer vacation together where each of the family members gets involved in a new or old relationship.

Lisbon Story(1994)

Wim Wenders' homage to Lisbon and films. A sound engineer obtains a mysterious postcard from a friend who at the moment is filming a film in Lisbon. He sets out across Europe to find him and help him.

The Soft Skin(1964)

Pierre Lachenay is a well-known publisher and lecturer, married to Franca and father of Sabine. He starts a love affair with air hostess Nicole, which Pierre is hiding, but he cannot stay away from her.

The Ninth Gate(1999)

A rare book dealer finds himself at the heart of a string of paranormal events when he is hired to find the last two copies of a text, The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, capable of summoning the Devil.

Bloody Night(2010)

A group of soldiers are sentenced for the murders of key political figures in the night of October 19th, 1921, in the streets of Lisbon. But the names of the conspirators remain unknown. Berta Maia, a widow of the 1910 revolution hero Carlos da Maia, will fight for the truth…

Sunbeat(2017)

Gabriel and Iris head back to their family holiday home in Portugal with their daughters Emma and Zoé, a couple of adorable six-year-old twins, for a vacation. In the heart of the sun-drenched countryside, as the little ones swim and laugh, the couple’s past begins to rear its head. Emma is overwhelmed by a secret that is simply too big for her to keep, and which she has no right to share with her twin sister.

Só Por Acaso(2003)

A bad luck that should never have happened, sends Rodrigo into a coma that lasts five years. And when he wakes up, after so long haunted by the image of the woman who shot him at close range, he realizes that life has not stopped waiting for him, without realizing that everyone is lying to him. And that your best friend is getting ready to get you into trouble again.

Mulberryhood(2022)

It’s the summer of 2004. Three boys play ball in a parking lot. Two brothers interfere with the game. One ball.

Zus & Zo(2002)

In this Oscar-nominated comedy, three wacky sisters try to save their inheritance from their supposedly gay brother, who suddenly appears with a fiancé in tow. If he gets married, their father's will stipulates that he gets the family hotel in Portugal. So the sisters put aside their personal differences and set out to stop the wedding at all costs.

Dr. Vilar

Portugal had been recovering after the reforms following the end of “The Great Cyber War” years prior. Trust was now returning to the economy. The successful prosecution of the recently captured hacker and rebel ringleader Dr. Vilar, would be a show of force for the government, clearly establishing that the days of corruption were now behind them, as they re-integrated back into the eurozone. Dr. Vilar, once responsible for the cyber attack that devastated Lisbon’s power grid, had spent the majority of his exile in London, England, from which he ran his criminal enterprise, until one day he was mysteriously betrayed…

A Shot in the Dark(2005)

A baby is kidnapped in a Brazilian airport. Years later, the mother lives in Lisbon and works in a strip-tease bar so she can survive. When she is fired, she joins a gang of bank robbers...

A Parição(2025)

In the White City(1983)

Fed up with the sea, Paul, a Swiss mechanic working in the noisy bowels of a merchant ship, lands in Lisbon.

The Little Bird of Ribeira(1960)

Popular in the riverside area of Porto, Micas raised her daughter, Madalena, at the cost of sacrifice, as her father emigrated to Brazil. With a happy voice, Madalena works on unloading the coal, seeing her loves thwarted by her humble condition. Barata, another typical figure who makes a living from expedients, helps Madalena's father - meanwhile returned, to "register" her - in a kidnapping plan capable of facilitating her reconciliation with Micas, who is reluctant... Things get complicated, but happiness ends up triumphing.

The Russia House(1990)

Barley Scott Blair, a Lisbon-based editor of Russian literature who unexpectedly begins working for British intelligence, is commissioned to investigate the purposes of Dante, a dissident scientist trapped in the decaying Soviet Union that is crumbling under the new open-minded policies.

My Friend from Faro(2008)

Eternal daydreamer Mel can't wait to quit her sucky catering job and fly to her dream destination: Portugal. Things change when the beautiful Jenny literally crashes into her life when Mel nearly runs her over in her classic BMW. It is love at first sight, however there is just one problem: Jenny mistakenly assumes Mel to be a boy. Despite this, the pair become boyfriend and girlfriend. With Mel attempting to disguise her true gender at every turn, her journey from tomboy to out lesbian is fraught with life-defining dilemmas and sweet surprises.