Ossos

Ossos is a minimalistic drama set in the Creole slum Estrela d'África in Lisbon. Tina has given birth in the hospital, returns home, and immediately turns on the gas. Tina's boyfriend, still a teenager too, rescues the child, wraps it in a garbage bag, and takes to the streets to beg, offering the child for sale. When that proves unsuccessful, he leaves the baby with a nurse, later with a young prostitute. Meanwhile, Tina and her best friend Clotilde attempt to reclaim the child. With their austere, slow and tired movements, Costa’s amateur actors barely show any emotions. They are individuals who have been beaten into submission in a world where the only truly cheerful – or at least warmly human – element arises from the friendship between Tina and Clotilde. However, Costa's unconventional approach manages to evoke strong and convincing emotions, forcing the viewer to confront despair head-on.