| Rite of Spring | |
| Director: | Manoel de Oliveira |
| Producer: | Manoel de Oliveira |
| Cinematography: | Manoel de Oliveira |
| Editing: | Manoel de Oliveira |
| Runtime: | 94 min |
| Country: | Portugal |
| Language: | Portuguese |
Rite of Spring (Portuguese: Acto da Primavera) is a 1963 Portuguese film directed by Manoel de Oliveira, his second feature.
The poet and director António Reis was the film's assistant director, and his influence can be felt deeply throughout it. (The film was included in the film program The School of Reis in 2012.[1])
The inhabitants of Curalha, a small village in western Portugal, perform the Passion of Jesus every year according to text from about the 16th century, a tradition upon which Oliveira stumbled during the production of a film in 1963. The film is also remembered for "a furious apocalyptic montage that links Christ's death to the violence and lunacy of the Vietnam era".[2]