In the heart of Portugal, amid the mountains, the month of August is abuzz with people and activity. Emigrants return home, set off fireworks, fight fires, sing karaoke, hurl themselves from bridges, hunt wild boar, drink beer, make babies. If the director and film crew had got straight to it and resisted the temptation to join in the festivities the synopsis would come down to: “Our beloved month of August” follows the affective relationship between a father and daughter, and the daughter’s cousin, all musicians in a popular music band. So, love and music then.