Scenes from the Class Struggle in Portugal. 1977. USA. Directed by Robert Kramer, Philip J. Spinelli. 4K digital restoration by Cinemateca Portuguesa; courtesy Cinemateca Portuguesa. 89 min.
The Carnation Revolution and the end of the Portuguese fascist regime made foreign journalists, scholars, and filmmakers look at the country with new eyes. Many moved there to document unbelievable events and passionate discussions among different left-wing groups who longed for socialism’s wildest dreams. Energized by this revolutionary climate, American filmmakers Robert Kramer and Philip J. Spinelli moved to Portugal to engage in an anti-imperialist struggle and shoot Scenes from the Class Struggle in Portugal, a militant documentary about a country on the brink of civil war between a Marxist faction and the centrist movement that eventually led the nation’s transition to a Western capitalist democracy.