It's been seven years since Celia Amonte (Sofia Milos) lost her fisherman husband Joseph at sea. She's a Portuguese immigrant in New Bedford, Massachusetts. She and her daughter Vicky (Emmy Rossum) live with her mother-in-law Angelica Amonte (Lupe Ontiveros). Vicky goes out to the casino and encounters professional gambler Charles Beck (Jason Isaacs). He has been brought in by the respectable Vargases (Theresa Russell, Seymour Cassel). Vicky wants to join him as a gambling team. He falls for Celia who is singing in a dinner club. With Vicky's help, he pretends to be a fisherman to woo Celia while he teaches her to count cards.For symmetry, Vicky needs a young guy to play with. Emmy Rossum was around 15 but she looked 20ish especially dolled up to get into the casino. Rossum has more presence than Milos. This leads to the uncomfortable prospects of pairing her up with Charles. To concentrate on the budding romance with Celia, Charles needs more screen time with her and less with Vicky. The central romance is lacking real heat. This has more in common with an average Lifetime romance except this is supposed to be better. There is a Portuguese aspect to the characters which is not fully exploited. There is food but the movie fails in making food porn. It feels superficial like an ethnic food fair festival. There are ways to make more out of the situation but the movie fails to excel.

The true meaning of romance can be found, seen and felt in this film. One only needs to look into the eyes of the Celia and Charles and listen to their words and feel the passion they both express to be loved. Sofio Milos does a magnificent portrayal of a Portuguese woman who once found love with a man that only a few would ever find and after his death she knew it would be her last gift. In steps Charles and as far as Celia is concerned, he doesn't really exist because of her love for her husband and honor, would not allow any other man in her life. With a little help from her daughter and the persistence of Charles driven by is on own passion to win Celia's heart, to be loved again.

Charlie (Jason Isaac) is a card player of dubious luck, who lives in a cheap motel and is going nowhere until he meets and woos a conservative and beautiful Portugese seamstress/singer, Celia, played by the stunning Sofia Milos (CSI: Miami). Celia has a meddlesome teenage daughter, Vickie (Emmy Rossum) who wants to learn how to count cards by blackmailing Charlie into teaching her, but he is banned from all casinos. Vickie wants to hook her mother up with a new man but her computer dating schemes fail. In the meanwhile, Charlie's only friends, a wealthy couple, Lois (Theresa Russell) and Danny Vargas (Seymore Cassel), lend him their Jaguar XKE, sailboat, and home to impress the widow that he is a successful and wealthy entrepreneur. It sounds like a typical dating game setup except for the background settings of the Portugese fishing community, mouthwatering seafood cooking, and casino gaming that flesh out the story. Love, fish, and lying to make points with the mother, Charlie learns how to turn his life around the hard way through his deceptions which backfire, and Sofia tries to forget the husband whose death has left her prematurely widowed yet not dead from the neck down. Through the interferences of Vickie, lots of fish as unlikely props, and a sappy storyline, this is an entertaining film which allows the wonderful character actor Jason Isaac to show another side to his already powerful acting chops. Emmy Rossum is adequately irritating in a pre-Phantom of the Opera role which suggests her growth from typical teen to ingénue in training. However, it is the vibrant Sofia Milos as Celia who gives a rounded performance from cloistered widow to sensuous nightclub chanteuse that surprises and delights.This is a small story about love in all its forms and definitions. Thoroughly enjoyable and wonderful for a date nite or simply rainy day, Passionada entertains.

Passionada is such an unpretentious movie that its unique charm and superb craft sneak up on you, and by the end, win you over in such a refreshing way that is really stays with you...and for me, that's the sign of a wonderful movie!I haven't felt so good watching a movie this simple in a long time. And, if its complexity you're looking for, I suggest you see Dan Ireland's other film, The Whole Wide World. But, for me, Passionada may look simple, but to pull off what Ireland does so successfully here is an almost next to impossible feat. This is a sunny, optimistic celebration of love and second chances, told with the artistry of a European master. In a world of 'edge' from independent filmmakers, this is a welcome and refreshing departure. It's almost like you have been transported back in time to a happier, more care free world, where the most important thing is family, community and personal happiness. Sound unusual?The cast is sublime, especially Sofia Milos. What a beauty, what a performance! She's a cross between Anna Magnani and Sophia Loren, with a little Irene Pappas thrown in for a chaser. Emmy Rossum is going to be a big star, and like Renee Zellweger, she owes Ireland big time in his brave choice of casting her in a role (I read that she was 14 at the time) that she wasn't old enough to play, but did it so beautifully! Also, like what The Whole Wide World did for Zellweger (she got Jerry Maguire from it), I hear this film brought Rossum to the attention of Joel Schumacher who cast her in the lead role of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera.Jason Isaacs is perfect in a very difficult part, but he plays it to Cary Grant perfection. This should open eyes to those that only think he can play a villain.The score by the always amazing Harry Gregson-Williams, the intoxicating singing of Fado songs and the sumptuous cinematography by Ireland's long time collaborator, Claudio Rocha are nothing less than first rate.If you want to be taken to a world where you've never been before, rent this DVD. Such a shame it was wasted in its brief theatrical release. Don't let this one slip by. If you long for a film that will make you feel good, here it is. Do yourself a BIG favor.