Tren nocturno a Lisboa

I should start by saying if you're older (say 45 or more) you should definitely check out this movie. It has some lines in it that are extraordinary and it's worth seeing just for those nuggets. This is one of those movies that talks to you at a personal level. I don't want to describe too much of it because that would ruin the whole point.

But, I will say...

The director moves you along at such a perfect pace that you almost feel like you're floating. The topics aren't casual but he hovers over them at just the right height.

The acting is right on the money, it suits the movie perfectly, no one is out of step.

The story moves seamlessly between past and present, you won't feel a bump anywhere. It's true, the movie is multi-layered, but the straight up story is more than enough.

And the ending is perfect for this type of movie.

It really is worth the watch, but as I mentioned you might need to be a little older to really...

Night Train to Lisbon (2013)

A remarkable movie, with shades of magic and threads of a true national angst still resolving in contemporary Portugal. I just returned from a visit there and can sense some vestige of another era in the buildings, but not in the people. The era of dictatorship is no longer visible to the tourist.

But that is the meat of the movie, set after Salazar's long reign, and with the aftermath of memories and lost ones still mourned. But it's all told (based on a novel by a Swiss writer) as if in a dream, or in an individual's search through imprecise information and people who don't always talk about it the way you might expect. It's a series of small surprises, elegantly wrought.

So in all these ways it's a powerful movie. It's small and intimate, however, not an epic about this great turning point in Portuguese history. In a way it's appropriate, because I found the people there less exuberant and more contemplative than the Spaniards next door. There are always a million reasons for such things—climate, outside cultural influences, etc.—but it's so true that the movie is actually terribly honest. It reveals the truth, in little facets, and never complete.

The star certainly is Jeremy Irons, who plays the leading role with tenderness and quiet certitude. He's terrific, and perfect for this part. Also appearing is Charlotte Rampling who has a knack for small, odd, but critical roles in offbeat movies. The cast is wide, and in the many flashbacks the characters gradually intersect in different ways, revealing their personal connections to the political strife of the times.

Good stuff? Excellent stuff! I liked it more than I expected to. It's slow at times, and maybe (if you are not paying attention) a hair confusing, but give it a go if you are inclined at all. A serious, brooding but not depressing drama about, in the end, relationship. As all the best movies are.

"Night Train to Lisbon," an especially engrossing 2013 film now appearing on Netflix, may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for those hungry for a movie without flying cars that instead pulls you in with an unusual plot and thoughtful, incisive performances by an exceptionally capable cast, this one's for you.

The film was nominated for six Sophia Awards _ the national film awards of Portugal _ including best picture, and won three, for best supporting actress (Beatrice Bartarda), best art direction and best make-up.

Directed by Bille August ("Pelle the Conqueror"), "Night Train to Lisbon" was adapted from a philosophical novel by Swiss author Pascal Mercier.

Mercier's quotations are spoken in voice-over by the film's protagonist, Raimund Gregorius, played by Oscar winner Jeremy Irons, a quiet, lonely classical studies professor working in Bern, Switzerland, who rescues a young woman about to leap off a bridge and after she disappears, finds himself on a quest to Lisbon, not only to find her but to fully understand the story of a doctor-turned-poet whose book he discovers in the pocket of the coat she leaves behind.

The story isn't as dense or contrived as it sounds, thanks to the deft screenplay by Greg Latter and Ulrich Herrmann, and the uniform commitment to character and plot by Irons and a cast that includes veterans Tom Courtenay, Charlotte Rampling, Christpher Lee and Lena Olin.

It's the kind of story that sucks us in because it's a kind of "getaway" piece: Who doesn't daydream in a Walter Mittyish way of getting away from it all and taking off on an historical detective story, which is what this is.

Once in Portugal, Irons' Gregorius sets about on a quest for the author but instead finds his sister, Adriana (Rampling as the mature version, Batarda as the younger), and learns that Amadeu died in 1974 and that only 100 copies of his book were printed. The sister has six of the books and, wondering what happened to the rest, is delighted to find that her late brother's limited edition work found an audience beyond her country's borders. Thus, a tenuous but all-important bond is formed between the soft-spoken, insightful professor and the poet's sibling.

The movie intersperses Raimund's investigation with flashbacks to a past in which we meet the young Amadeu (a superb Jack Huston), a member of the resistance to the dictatorship of António Salazar.

Through Adriana, Raimund meets the priest (Lee) who taught Amadeu, Amadeu's best friend, Jorge (Bruno Ganz in the older version, August Diehl in the younger), and learns of Estefania (the fiery Mélanie Laurent), a resistance fighter who was Jorge's girlfriend until she met and fell instantly in love with the handsome Amadeu.

After Raimund breaks his spectacles, he meets a sympathetic optician Mariana (Martina Gedeck) who by happenstance has an uncle named Joao (Courtenay as the elder version, Marco D'Almeida as the youthful one) who was also a member of the resistance and fills in the story. Late in the film, the strings of the plot are pulled together when Raimund finally meets the mature Estefania (a stunningly beautiful and completely believable Olin).

As I said, "Night Train to Lisbon" isn't for everyone, especially for those accustomed to tons of action and instant gratification via computer wizardry and slam bang eye-for-an-eye retribution, but it did it for me. It's extraordinarily literate and sumptuously photographed to boot, and it's not a stretch to say it contains threads of David Lean's wonderful 1965 film version of "Doctor Zhivago," albeit on a much smaller scale.

I was especially drawn to Irons' professor, a sensationally muted performance that holds the whole thing together.

Since you'll probably be watching this in your living room, "Night Train to Lisbon" is rated R (under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) for a scene of violence and brief sexuality (which really aren't all that bad).

In Bern, Switzerland, the teacher Raimund Gregorius (Jeremy Irons) saves a young woman from committing suicide jumping off a bridge and brings her to the school where he works. During his class, she leaves the building and Raimund unsuccessfully runs after her to give her coat back. He finds a book, "Um Ourives das Palavras" (A Goldsmith of the Words) written by the Portuguese Amadeu de Almeida Prado (Jack Huston) in the pocket and he goes to the bookstore stamped on the first page and discovers that the book was sold on the previous day to the woman. He finds a train ticket to Lisbon that will departure in fifteen minutes inside the book and he goes to the Central Station expecting to find the woman. He embarks in the train to Lisbon and reads the book, becoming fascinated with the story. When he arrives in Lisbon, Raimund decides to stay in the city to meet Amadeu. He finds his house, where his sister Adriana (Charlotte Rampling) lives, and soon he discovers that Amadeu is dead. Raimund decides to research the life of Amadeu, who was a doctor and writer that belonged to the resistance against the dictator Salazar, and his discoveries affect his own boring life.

"Night Train to Lisbon" is a movie with a tedious beginning, when the lead character leaves his students in their classroom and travels to Lisbon in a senseless situation. Then there is serendipity, when he has an accident and breaks his glasses, and the doctor introduces him to her uncle that was a friend of Amadeu. But the development of the plot like a puzzle and the open conclusion are excellent and makes worthwhile watching this movie. The excellent European cast is another great attraction. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Trem Noturno para Lisboa" ("Night Train to Lisbon")

This is an Europudding co-produced by Germany/Switzerland/Portugal , it deals with Raimund Gregorius (Jeremy Irons) , a Swiss Professor, 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 . Having saved an enticing Portuguese girl from leaping to her death, Gregorius stumbles upon an attractive novel by a Portuguese author, as he figures out the destination of a certain writer named Amadeu (Jack Huston) , a doctor and poet who fought against Portuguese dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. When he arrived in Lisboa , he was welcomed by the writer's sister (Charlotte Rampling) and learned that Amadeu was a medic . Then , he was hit by a man riding a bicycle and smashed . On the day he took his new glasses, the optician (Martina Gedeck) told him that her uncle knew Amadeu well and would like to talk to him . Her uncle, João Eça, (Tom Courtenay) was in the resistance against Salazar dictatorship together with Amadeu . Gregorius acts as an investigator, pulling together pieces of a puzzle that involves suspense , twists and the highest possible stakes to lead unexpected consequences .

It is a correct adaptation based on the international best selling novel written by Pascal Mercier from the award winning director Billie August . This moving film contains suspense , plot twists , a love story , thrills , emotional intrigue and political events . This is a thought-provoking film proceeded in real sense and high sensibility . Though rather existential and thinky, it is ultimately charming . Director Billie August brings out the story through a series of flashbacks . Each flashback is a piece of the puzzle, framing the story and slowly filling in the center until the final piece unsatisfyingly drops into place to resolve the whole . The flashback technique has been used and re-used from ¨Citizen Kane¨ (1941), known by some as the best movie of all time, it gave the world the first plot device by means of flashbacks , following to ¨The Godfather¨ and recently ¨The hours¨ until today we are faced with ¨Night Train to Lisbon¨ (2013), a film destined for repeated use as schedule filling on inventory-building, loved by some attracted by the name of Jeremy Irons and ignored by everyone else . Very good acting from Jeremy Irons as an aging Swiss professor of classical languages , Jack Huston a young Amadeu , gorgeous Melanie Laurent as a mysterious revolutionary girl , Martina Gedeck as Mariana and August Diehl as Young Jorge O'Kelly . Furthermore , the veterans Tom Courtenay , Lena Olin and Bruno Ganz . And special mention to Charlotte Rampling , though Vanessa Redgrave was originally cast for the role of Adriana De Prado, however Rampling replaced her.

The motion picture was well directed by Billie August who repeats similar formula to ¨House of the spirits¨ as German production , Lisboa filming , international cast and Jeremy Irons as main starring . Twice winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Pelle the conqueror (1987) and The best intentions (1992) , Billie August is an expert on literary adaptations such as ¨Les Miserables¨, ¨Smilla's Sense of Snow¨ , ¨House of the spirits¨, ¨Marie Kroyer¨, ¨Jerusalem¨ and this ¨Night Train to Lisbon¨ . Rating : Better than average , worthwhile watching . The picture will appeal to Jeremy Irons fans .