Passionada
Passionada is a
2002 romantic comedy film. It is directed by
Dan Ireland and stars
Jason Isaacs,
Sofia Milos and
Emmy Rossum. The story is by
David Bakalar, and the
screenplay is by
Jim Jermanok and
Steve Jermanok. The film is set in
New Bedford, Massachusetts, a formerly wealthy port town with a sizable population of
Portuguese descent.
Celia Amonte (
Sofia Milos) is a
Portuguese American widow who lives in
New Bedford, Massachusetts with her daughter Vicky (
Emmy Rossum). The broke British
card counter Charles "Charlie" Beck (
Jason Isaacs) arrives in town to stay with and mooch off some wealthy friends and gamble at the local
casino. One night, dining at a Portuguese restaurant with his friends, Charlie sees Celia singing
fado, a haunting Portuguese form of song. He is enchanted with her, approaches her, and is rebuffed. Charlie later finds Celia's address in the phone book and goes to her house, where he encounters Vicky, whom he had met at the casino before. Vicky agrees to help Charlie woo her mother in exchange for lessons on card counting. This proves difficult, as Celia still longs for her deceased husband and has not dated since his death.
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Quicktime trailer from Apple Computer website
