German label KSM will bring to Blu-ray director Valeria Sarmiento's Lines of Wellington (2012), starring John Malkovich, Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Nuno Lopes, Soraia Chaves, Marisa Paredes, Michel Piccoli, Vincent Perez, and Mathieu Amalric. The release is set to arrive in shops across Germany on April 15th.
After conquering Spain, Napoleon Bonaparte sent a powerful army to invade Portugal in 1810. The French plowed through the resistance mounted against them until, as they approached Lisbon, they were met by a combined British and Portuguese army under the command of the Viscount Wellington. That's the general historical outline for Valeria Sarmiento's extraordinarily intimate epic of the Peninsular War. Along the way, we witness love affairs and treachery, noble action and selfish cruelty, from the highest social echelons to the most humble quarters. Prepared by the late Raul Ruiz from a screenplay by Carlos Saboga (Mysteries of Lisbon), Lines of Wellington was completed by Sarmiento—Ruiz's longtime editor as well as his widow—who has created a revealing portrait of life during what has been called one of the first examples of "total war."
