To Die like a Man

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To Die Like a Man (Morrer Como Um Homem) is a 2009 Portuguese drama directed by João Pedro Rodrigues. The film stars Fernando Santos, Chandra Malatitch, Miguel Loureiro, Jenny Larue, and Fernando Gomes, with cinematography by Rui Poças. Produced by Rosa Filmes, it runs 134 minutes and is in Portuguese.

It competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and was Portugal’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards, though it did not make the final shortlist.

Critical reception was mixed. Variety criticized the lengthy runtime and the heavy use of music, calling the film unremarkable. Nevertheless, it received praise from some critics, including J. Hoberman, who described it as a sad, lyrical fable about an aging transgender Fado singer. The film was named Best Undistributed Film of 2009 by Village Voice critics. Cahiers du cinéma listed it seventh on its best films of 2010, and Time Out New York’s Keith Uhlich named it the seventh-best film of 2011, calling it a quiet heartbreaker.