Mysteries of Lisbon (2010)
"Mistérios de Lisboa" (original title)

Follows a jealous countess, a wealthy businessman, and a young orphaned boy across Portugal, France, Italy and Brazil where they connect with a variety of mysterious individuals.

Director:

Raoul Ruiz

Writers:

Camilo Castelo Branco (book), Carlos Saboga (screenplay)

Stars:

Adriano Luz, Maria João Bastos, Ricardo Pereira

10 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adriano Luz	...	Padre Dinis & Sabino Cabra & Sebastião de Melo
Maria João Bastos	...	Ângela de Lima
Ricardo Pereira	...	Alberto de Magalhães & Come-Facas
Clotilde Hesme	...	Elisa de Montfort
José Afonso Pimentel	...	Pedro da Silva Adulto (as Affonso Pimentel)
João Arrais	...	Pedro da Silva Criança (as João Luis Arrais)
Albano Jerónimo	...	Conde de Santa Bárbara
João Baptista	...	D. Pedro da Silva
Martin Loizillon	...	Padre Dinis Jovem
Julien Alluguette	...	Benoit de Montfort
Rui Morrison	...	Marquês de Montezelos
Joana de Verona	...	Eugénia
Carloto Cotta	...	D. Álvaro de Albuquerque
Maria João Pinho	...	Condessa de Vizo
José Manuel Mendes	...	Frei Baltazar da Encarnação

Storyline

Follows a jealous countess, a wealthy businessman, and a young orphaned boy across Portugal, France, Italy and Brazil where they connect with a variety of mysterious individuals.

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Plot Keywords:

france | countess | portugal | italy | businessman | 

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Taglines:

An Epic Life He Could Only Imagine

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp] Official site [po]

Country:

Portugal France

Language:

Portuguese French English

Release Date:

20 October 2010 (France)

Also Known As:

Mysteries of Lisbon

Filming Locations:

Mafra, Portugal

Box Office

Budget:

€2,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$12,308 (USA) (5 August 2011)

Gross:

$110,507 (USA) (4 November 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Clap Filmes, Alfama Films, Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual (ICA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

272 min 272 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited from Mysteries of Lisbon (2011)

User Reviews

Conversations reveal complicated pasts in this epic Portuguese novel brought to life

The Mysteries of Lisbon are not so much mysteries as they are a series of conversations which always lead to some sort of revelation. These revelations are melodramatic punch lines with interlocking characters continuously finding out who their parents are, where they came from, the results of lost loves, and everything in between. If the script was written in a linear fashion with no time jumps or flashbacks, there would be no mysteries; it would just be a meandering retelling of Romeo and Juliet (and all of their cousins).

The word meandering sounds harsh and an indictment of a script which does not know where it is going. However, I mean meandering as in there are multiple lead characters to follow and each of them has a very complicated past which takes its time to tell. The Mysteries of Lisbon is four and a half hours long; the director threw out accepted norms for audience patience in favor of showing the whole story. It is based on an 1854 novel by the Portuguese author Camilo Castelo Branco and it appears it was filmed in an unabridged fashion.

The main character is a village priest, Padre Denis (Adriano Luz), who at first is indirectly involved in a couple's forbidden love affair and then purposefully injects himself into their lives and then into everyone else's life who comes into contact with their troubles. Even though the priest is the interconnecting cog in the middle of all of these characters, he is not the narrator. That role is given to an orphan the priest looks after and becomes a driving force of his own later on.

The director, Raul Ruiz, obviously loves conversations, but only deep and emotionally scarring ones. Every conversation or recounting of a previous conversation has its own 30 minute segment it seems. The characters, usually just two, sit in a room and then the scene fades into flashback on what happened in the past which will now illuminate the present. I believe the time shifts were included to create the mystery. The author deliberately created the tension of not knowing and the 'a-ha' discovery moments because he could not have accomplished the same moments with a realistic, linear timeline.

The action is mostly set in Portugal and appears to be in the early 1800s but after Napoleon. The Emperor is frequently referenced but only in the past tense. Many of the characters are nobles so the costume designer had a true feast in outfitting so many people in remarkable period dress. The Portuguese scenery and elaborate set designs are also enjoyable; somebody really took their time to make the set look intensely real. The lighting is also employed to convey a sense of realness. There seems to be no artificial lighting whatsoever. Light only comes through windows during the day and the rooms are terrifically dark at night. The candles never flicker so there must be some source of artificiality, but it is not noticeable. Unfortunately, Raul Ruiz recently passed away on 19 August. He was Chilean born but left Chile in 1973 when Augusto Pinochet took power. The Mysteries of Lisbon is his final film and is of such epic proportions it appears he was thinking about this film for a long time before he finally took the plunge.

I recommend this film, but be careful. Watch it only if you appreciate long, intense scenes of dialogue or appreciate the intricate details of period films. There is extremely little action and drawn out sequences with no words spoken at all; however, there is character with the endearing name 'Knife Eater'. If these aspects do not scare you, then sit back and enjoy because you are in for a real treat. You will not see a film like this from an American director; no studio would ever sign off on a movie this long, not if they expect it to make any money.