A dozen Portuguese soldiers are driving in a military jeep during the Angolan War of Independence, among them Lt. Cabrita, Manuel, Pedro, Salvador and Cpt. Brito. They talk about the futility of keeping colonial rule when most of European powers left Africa. Cabrita, who studied history, recounts historical examples of Portuguese battles and wars, including the Battle of Toro in 1476 and Battle of Alcácer Quibir in 1578. The soldiers arrive at a military base. The next day, the walk by foot in the jungle, but are shot at by rebels in an ambush. Cabrita is wounded and dies in a hospital. The date is 24 April 1 9 7 4, the day of the Carnation Revolution, which would later grant all of Portuguese colonies independence.
"No, or the Vain Glory of Command" is a meditation on the history of Portuguese (colonial) wars and its futility, seen through the prism of the Angolan War of Independence, advocating for the abolishment of any kind of imperialism, irredentism, annexationism and colonialism altogether, and instead calling for the contribution of science and culture in humanity. The director Manoel de Oliviera uses a peculiar, hermetic set of episodes without a real storyline, indulging too much in this as an art-film instead of an film for the universal viewers, but it has its moments. The best part is the opening 20-minute sequence where the camera observes some dozen Portuguese soldiers driving somewhere in the Angolan jungle on a military jeep, but who suddenly start discussing some philosophical contemplations about conflicts in general. For instance, one soldier mentions how he assumes that African colonies could one day become independent from Portugal, just like Brazil once did, upon which the other soldier, Salvador, responds: "Independent? Colonies that have been ours for five centuries?! This is no Vietnam! To hell with your worthless talk!" Lieutenant Cabrita, who studied history, then brings up the comparison with Viriato, rebel leader of Lusitanian people from the area of present day Portugal, who also fought for independence from the Roman Republic in 2nd century BC.
Salvador also laments that the world calls them colonialists: "The "democratic" Russians grabbed half of Europe without further ado. And the Chinese are no better. They conquered the Tibetan people and exploit them as they please." Another soldier also laments: "And by reuniting those tribes we created foundations of a country, or a multicultural nation." - "Exactly. And our language served as an agglutinating element. Creating structures for a future nation." The rest is less interesting and engaging. The regressive episodes which show all the failures of Portuguese wars and battles, such as the Battle of Toro in 1476 and Battle of Alcácer Quibir in 1578, are more schematic than they are genuine, regardless of all the opulent costumes and horses, though the same actors who play soldiers in the modern story also play soldiers of these historical events, underlying the theme of a "curse" of doomed wars which just waste lives, without achieving anything with a lasting, permanent value. Empires come and go, only the people and their development remain. The Angolan War of Independence should have been expanded and depicted in more detail, and not only a brief skirmish near the end. It's all too artificial, arbitrary and truncated. Nonetheless, the movie becomes even surreal in a dream sequence of a paradise island visited by Portuguese sailors in the middle of the film, and some dialogue is interesting ("Sometimes I think that the Universe and mankind aren't but an evasion of God's imagination").
Grade:++
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