“Clearly inspired in look and subject matter by the first films of the French New Wave, The Green Years explores the back-alley world of Lisbon from the point of view of a young man recently arrived from the country. Julio comes to the city to try his luck at setting up his own shoe trade. He meets Ilda, also from the provinces, who works as a maid in a house near Julio's workshop. Julio increasingly senses himself to be an outsider, unable to comprehend city ways and the attitudes of those around him, which leads him finally to a senseless act of violence.
“A former assistant to Jean Renoir, Rocha brings his camera out of doors and into cramped restaurants and fado clubs, moving at times between a documentary sensibility and the needs of the dramatic action, as if Julio's story were simply one selected randomly from the crowd. A landmark film for the Portuguese cinema, The Green Years was a decisive move towards a cinema which might confront everyday reality directly.” Richard Peña