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BY LOREN KING
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The first feature in years (the last was Moby Dick) shot in the blue-collar waterfront city of New Bedford, Passionada blends romance, comedy, and generational conflict for a pleasing and substantial concoction. The script from Boston-area brothers Jim and Steve Jermanok boasts trawlers, triple-deckers, street feasts, and casinos, but the ambiance isn’t reflected in the story, which is a Like Water for Chocolate–style tale of two seemingly mismatched souls who find each other. Celia Amonte (Sofia Milos) is a sultry fado singer who has repressed her passions (except when she’s singing) after the death of her young husband at sea. Her teenage daughter, Vicky (Emmy Rossum), on the other hand, has passion to spare. Conflict and romance bloom when a charming cardsharp, Charlie (Jason Isaacs), woos the resistant Celia. Director Dan Ireland worked a similar mix of enchantment and realism in The Whole Wide World, and he’s teamed again with Mexican cinematographer Claudio Rocha, who brings luster to the clash of worlds old and new. Milos, Isaacs, and newcomer Rossum are first-rate, and Lupe Ontiveros as Celia’s mother-in-law supplies enough passion to smother Old World stereotypes. (108 minutes)
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