
Lusitanian Illusion
Documentary · History
Overview
Images and sounds expose the duality of Portugal during the days of WW2: a peaceful, god-loving, rural country, providing an escape route for over one hundred thousand European refugees to the Americas; and a political and cultural elite that disguised their Nazi inclinations just enough to play its neutral role in international politics.
Top Cast


António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar
Self (archive footage)
António de Oliveira Salazar
Self (archive footage)


Américo Tomás
Américo Tomás
Self - President of the Republic (archive footage)
Américo Tomás
Self - President of the Republic (archive footage)


Hanna Schygulla
Hanna Schygulla
Erika Mann (voice)
Hanna Schygulla
Erika Mann (voice)


Rüdiger Vogler
Rüdiger Vogler
Alfred Döblin (voice)
Rüdiger Vogler
Alfred Döblin (voice)
Christian Patey
Christian Patey
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (voice)
Christian Patey
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (voice)


Annabella
Annabella
Self (archive footage)
Annabella
Self (archive footage)


Danielle Darrieux
Danielle Darrieux
Self (archive footage)
Danielle Darrieux
Self (archive footage)


Louis Jouvet
Louis Jouvet
Self (archive footage)
Louis Jouvet
Self (archive footage)


Robert Montgomery
Robert Montgomery
Self (archive footage)
Robert Montgomery
Self (archive footage)


Madeleine Ozeray
Madeleine Ozeray
Self (archive footage)
Madeleine Ozeray
Self (archive footage)
Similar Movies

The Spanish journalist Manuel Chaves Nogales (1897-1944) was always there where the news broke out: in the fratricidal Spain of 1936, in Bolshevik Russia, in Fascist Italy, in Nazi Germany, in occupied Paris or in the bombed London of World War II; because his job was to walk, see and tell stories, and thus fight against tyrants, at a time when it was necessary to take sides in order not to be left alone; but he, a man of integrity to the bitter end, never did so.
This short-form documentary focuses on the true story of Alfons Heck, who as an impressionable 10-year-old boy became a high-ranking member of the Hitler youth movement during World War II. The story is told in his own words. This film originally aired as part of the "America Undercover" series on HBO.

Assigned to oversee the development of the atomic bomb, Gen. Leslie Groves is a stern military man determined to have the project go according to plan. He selects J. Robert Oppenheimer as the key scientist on the top-secret operation, but the two men clash fiercely on a number of issues. Despite their frequent conflicts, Groves and Oppenheimer ultimately push ahead with two bomb designs — the bigger "Fat Man" and the more streamlined "Little Boy."

This story follows one man's quest to uncover the origins and reveal the mysteries of a possible Holocaust artifact some historians now say never existed: lampshades made of human skin. When the flood waters of Hurricane Katrina receded, they left behind a wrecked New Orleans and a strange looking lamp that an illicit dealer claimed was 'made from the skin of Jews.'
In 1939, Hitler is at the height of his power and is steering Europe into a monstrous tragedy. The young Georg Elser recognizes the danger posed by the fascist system and decides to put an end to the Führer. To do so, he builds a bomb himself, which is supposed to explode during one of Hitler's events. Everything seems to be going well until Hitler ends his appearance earlier than planned...

A group of elders spends their weekdays in a retirement home in Sandim, in the north of Portugal, where they talk, do arts and crafts, practice yoga and pray. We follow them between October 2012 and March 2013, when an economic crisis overshadowed Portuguese society and unemployment rates reached record levels. Meanwhile, arrangements are made for the Carnival ball. Will they bring the first place home this time?

Karlskov is a self made, successful owner of a large electronics factory, has a wife and five children. They live the good, privileged upper-class life on Strandvejen north of Copenhagen when the Nazis occupy Denmark in April 1940. Karl struggles to continue production at the factory, but to protect his family and employees he reluctantly begins to produce for the German market. It brings him into a controversial collaboration with the occupying power and causes painful breaks in the family.















