on a small cruise ship and leonor silveira and play a young attractive school teacher travel with her daughter and point out and comment on site a they retrace vasco da gama year long voyage from lisbon to india some five hundred year earlier this time sail through the mediterranean sea and suez . the obsequious captain and play by john malkovitch and at the same time he be entertain three successful european business woman and play by catherine deneuve and stefania sandrelli and irene pappa and who recount their life experience in their own language and intrudes unwantedly on the teacher and daughter . and would not be deter . turn to the daughter after the mother reject him and the story veers into tragedy . pappas sings beautifully and sandrelli be the ava gardner of italian cinema .