Swiss Professor Raimund Gregorius abandons his lectures and buttoned-down life to embark on a thrilling adventure that will take him on a journey to the very heart of himself.Swiss Professor Raimund Gregorius abandons his lectures and buttoned-down life to embark on a thrilling adventure that will take him on a journey to the very heart of himself.Swiss Professor Raimund Gregorius abandons his lectures and buttoned-down life to embark on a thrilling adventure that will take him on a journey to the very heart of himself.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 3 nominations
- Catarina Mendez
- (as Sarah Spale-Bühlmann)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe title of the book written by the character Amadeu "Um Ourives das Palavras" is Portuguese for "A Goldsmith of Words."
- GoofsWhen Raimund is on the Bern Train Station, he is thinking whether he goes on board or not. The train starts to move and the doors are still open, which nowadays it would be impossible in trains of that dimension for security reasons. Although the error was needed to give more tension to the scene, it is still a thing that would never occur nowadays.
- Quotes
Amadeu: We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place. We stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there. We travel to ourselves when we go to a place. Now we have covered the stretch of our lives, no matter how brief it may have been.
- ConnectionsReferenced in The Salesman (2016)
- SoundtracksLisboa
Composer: Annette Focks
Portugese Guitar: Damiel Pircher
Sound Mixer: Tom Tautorat
Recording & Mix Studio: Emil Berlin Studios
'Night Train to Lisbon's' main draw for me was the cast. A cast that includes Jeremy Irons, Tom Courtenay, Lena Olin, Bruno Ganz, Christopher Lee, Martina Gedeck and Charlotte Rampling is very difficult to resist, Irons and Lee especially are favourites of mine and like a lot of Courtenay's work too. Seeing the whole film yesterday, while it falls short of greatness to me there was much to admire about it. 'Night Train to Lisbon' is not for everybody, it may be too slow-paced and too talky for some and a fair share of critics found it to be the case. Personally find it very under-valued, despite coming across a lot of people online who did like it, thought it did its premise justice and wasn't bothered as much by what critics didn't like about it.
It's not flawless, the back and forth between timelines is at times is not always as clear or natural in flow as it should be with some of the chronology in the flashbacks jumping about a little.
Some of the events in the modern day happen too conveniently and at times the first third or so when the story was just setting up was a little sluggish and over-wordy.
Once 'Night Train to Lisbon' got going and Raimund and the audience learn more, it becomes a very thoughtful and engaging film with a good amount of emotional impact (especially towards the end), each revelation being intriguing and not too predictable. Respectfully do disagree with those that say that the flashbacks had no tension or suspense, found the latter ones when the revolution became more violent edge of the seat suspenseful. The political elements thankfully are not laid on too thick and considering the time period it was so easy to fall into that trap. Liked too the charming and gentle approach to the modern day scenes, particularly apparent in the chemistry between Raimund and Marianna.
Visually, 'Night Train to Lisbon' looks a treat. It is absolutely beautifully shot and anybody who has not been to Lisbon will find themselves to book a trip there, the film perfectly captures the beauty of it without feeling like a holiday travelogue. The music score really stuck in my mind after watching the film and is still in my head now, loved the understatement and pathos it brought. August directs solidly and the script, while too wordy in places, is very thoughtful, very layered and intelligent, wasn't confused by any of it and wasn't irked by Raimund's intriguing questioning. Some may find the ending abrupt, actually appreciated that it didn't end in a way that could potentially be too pat.
What is especially good about 'Night Train to Train' is the cast, some suspect accents aside. August did two films with Jeremy Irons, this and 'House of the Spirits' twenty years or so previous. Don't know how this opinion is going to go down with people, but found this to be the better film and despite the role here being less complex also prefer Irons' performance in this film. His performance is one of his most subtle with telling expressions and warm as chocolate delivery, but he is wholly successful in making a character meant to be "boring" very compelling and easy to identify with, and totally carries the modern day scenes which wouldn't have had as much impact without him. It is a wonderful performance and among his better recent years ones. He shares great chemistry with a charming Martina Gedeck, equally good in his scenes with Tom Courtenay and a pretty moving one with frail but still commanding as ever Christopher Lee in one of his last roles. The younger cast do just as good a job, especially Jack Huston showing that with good material he can be good and Melanie Laurent. Charlotte Rampling also gives a deeply felt performance in a small but important role.
Concluding, well worth your time. 7/10
- TheLittleSongbird
- May 24, 2019
- Permalink
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Нічний потяг до Лісабона
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- €7,700,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $12,020,387
- Runtime1 hour 51 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1