Our Father: The Last Days of a Dictator

Our Father: The Last Days of a Dictator (2026)



Pai Nosso: Os Últimos Dias de Salazar

6.5 2026 108 min Portugal

Director: José Filipe Costa

Cast: Jorge Mota, Catarina Avelar, Vera Barreto, Carolina Amaral, Cleia Almeida

Drama
Portugal, 1968. The world’s longest-ruling fascist dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar, takes a fall from a chair and suffers a stroke. As he returns to the São Bento palace to recover, he has already been stripped of his role as President of the Council—but the truth is hidden from him. His devoted housekeeper Maria de Jesus, the maids Aparecida, Socorro, and Teresinha, and even his personal physician all conspire in silence. For two full years, Salazar lives inside a carefully woven illusion, convinced he still holds power, until his death in 1970.

More About This Film

Our Father: The Last Days of a Dictator examines the final period of António de Oliveira Salazar's long political rule in Portugal. The film looks at a regime approaching its final chapter and at the people and institutions surrounding the aging dictator.

Mixing historical material with a carefully constructed cinematic portrait, the documentary-drama explores power, memory, political mythology, and the uneasy relationship between public image and private reality during the last years of the Estado Novo.

  • The Portuguese title is Pai Nosso: Os Últimos Dias de Salazar.
  • Directed and written by José Filipe Costa with Letícia Simões and Daniel Tavares credited on the screenplay.
  • The film runs approximately 108 minutes.
  • It premiered internationally at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2025.
  • It received a Portuguese theatrical release in May 2026.

Where to Watch

The film is most closely associated with Portuguese arthouse and festival distribution, so international availability may be limited.

  • RTP Play – subscription/free availability where offered
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