António de Macedo’s cinematic universe was always marked by his interest in esoteric, fantastical worlds. During the 1980s, he directed several films in which reality was overlaid with speculative fiction. Os Emissários de Khalôm is the greatest example of this: with its range of historical time periods — from the late 19th to the 20th century, including characters sent from the (technological) future — the film uses a nuclear war as a vehicle for highlighting the necessity of eternal love between its characters.