The Cannibals - Manoel de Oliveira (1988)

In an aristocratic society where everything is sung like an opera, Margarida and Don Joao the Younger fall madly in love at a grand ball. Their passion is immediately thwarted by the authoritarian refusal of the young woman's father, who seeks to control his daughter's future and conceals political ambitions. The lovers continue their relationship in secret, but their escape is cut short when Don Joao the Younger is captured by a strange, marginal community known as the Cannibals. According to their ancestral ritual, they devour those they deem worthy in order to appropriate their strength. Margarida tries to save her beloved, but the Cannibals refuse to release him. Unable to accept the separation, the two young lovers choose to face death together. In a tragic and baroque finale, their fate unfolds as a ceremony that is as macabre as it is lyrical, blending social satire, dark humor, and operatic aesthetics.