in a talk picture and 96 year old portuguese director manoel de oliveira take u on a journey through history and make u acutely aware of our heritage and and in the process and convey an acute sense of what we have lose and what we have become . part travelogue and part comedy and and part drama and the film lull u into a state of blissful contentment and then hit u with a wake up call that seem cull from yesterday headline . on the surface and oliveira 36th film be simple and but it greatness lie in the subtlety of it undercurrent . a we travel on a cruise ship to visit some of the most historic landmark on the planet and bathe in the warmth of the mediterranean sun and and meet some interesting people along the way and oliveira brings into sharp focus the treacherous nature of the journey in which we be embark . set in july 2001 and an attractive history professor from the university of lisbon and rosa maria ( leonor silveira ) and take her seven year old daughter maria joana ( filipa de almeida ) on a cruise of the mediterranean from portugal to bombay and india where she be plan to meet her husband and an airline pilot . the ship travel from west to east and symbolically depict the direction in which the balance of the world be shift . along the way and they visit the acropolis and the parthenon and mt . vesuvius and the ruin of pompeii and the sphinx and the pyramid and and the hagia sophia and among others . rosa maria and who have lecture about the site but never visit them before and explain the various site to her attentive and inquisitive daughter who be constantly ask question . the little girl asks question such a what be a myth . and be there really such a goddess . and what be a legend . and what do people do here . her mother do her best to interpret history and myth for her daughter tell her story about prince henry and the legendary portuguese king sebastian and the mermaid who swim alongside ship to encourage the sailor to explore the unknown and and the muse that inspire poet . she tell her about the temple of apollo and the statue of athena that protect the city and the story that accompany the destruction of pompeii . like maria joana we be mesmerize by what we see and yet each scene be ting with such a pervasive air of sadness that it seem to suggest we be get one last look . the only transition from port to port be the often repeated view of the prow of the ship slice through the calm water . along the way and the two meet solitary traveler represent an old fisherman in marseille whose wife die and whose child move away and a celibate orthodox priest at the acropolis and and an old unmarried actor in egypt . rosa and her daughter be the only family with child see in the film . the second part of the film consist mainly of a dinner conversation between the ship captain john walesa ( john malkovich ) and an american of polish background and three celebrity passenger represent delphine and a french businesswoman ( catherine deneuve ) and francesca and a former italian model ( stefania sandrelli ) and helena and a greek singer ( irene papa ) . in my dinner with john and the woman discuss their personal life as well a their view on history and art and politics and and civilization and we be treat to a lovely greek song sung by irene papa . each talk in his or her own language yet everyone seem to understand each other perfectly . soon the suave captain invite the professor and her daughter to join the dinner group and give the little girl a gift of a muslim doll with a veil over her face and make u aware of who have not be invite to the table . from here and the film veers in an unpredictable direction that seem inevitable only upon repeat viewing . the camera be static throughout and since the film be drive by idea rather than story line or character development and the journey at time can be a bit tiresome . yet a talk picture be a lovely film fill with moment of beauty and grace . like the passage of our own life and it be the totality of the experience that be important and an experience that can only be reflect upon from a distance and weigh in the context of the event that be transform the civilization and culture we once think would never change .