For better or worse, there is a lot that has been decided about your life even before you were born– the circumstances of your childhood are a direct reflection of the choices your parents made, as well as their parents, and their parents before them. This idea made for an intriguing Portuguese novel, which was later adapted into the sprawling 272-minute Mysteries of Lisbon. Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz renders the plot into an intricate mystery, slowly and steadily unravelling its secrets in multiple layers, coincidences, and synchronities in love, war, trauma, and betrayal. The lengthy runtime might be daunting for some viewers, but once immersed, it’s so easy to be mesmerized by Ruiz’s stunning shots, the narratives shared by the characters, and the memories that they find themselves lost in. Mistérios de Lisboa was a daunting novel to adapt because of the multinarrative tale, but Ruiz translates the narrative into a surreal masterpiece to behold.
Synopsis
The tragic story of the many lives of Father Dinis, his dark origins and his pious works, and the different fates of all those who, trapped in a sinister web of love, hate and crime, cross paths with him through years of adventure and misfortune in the convulsed Europe of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Storyline
Growing up in an orphanage, João is surprised to be introduced to his true mother, the Countess Ângela de Lima, who fled with his teacher, the priest Father Dinis, during Portugal's Revolução Liberal, leading the future writer to uncover the intricate past of his family and that of his mentor.
TLDR
What a dizzying watch for a whole afternoon.
What stands out
There are plenty of period dramas, but many often had to sacrifice some accuracy, length, or budget in order to be made. Mysteries of Lisbon is one of the few that hits all the right marks.
