Night Train to Lisbon

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...

A good story with a good cast, told in a nice way for everyone to feel, experience and ask himself questions about life. Life as encounters, as crashes and as sharing - sharing moments, sharing places, sharing memories.

A friend says: "Only the people that are alive and have the memory of you can be the true witnesses of your existence on Earth, otherwise - have we been really alive?!...".

You meet people every day in your life, but it is just when you collide with them - voluntarily or not, when they share their life with you and you share yours with them.

I encourage you to take this train. Its worth it! :)

Night Train to Lisbon is one of the most philosophical movies to hit theaters in the last couple of years. The trip started by Raimund is not between places but between identities. An existential journey into the great unknown of the soul. Some say we take ourselves everywhere we go. This movie tries to tell us instead that we *find* ourselves in those places, we discover a new way of seeing with our own eyes and, when we leave, a part of us stays in that place forever. Returning there is a way of visiting ourselves, like we would an old friend... There's so many layers, so many subtle metaphors, so much poetry in the imagery and storytelling, that despite being such a straightforward story you can't help feeling like you're walking through a maze, a labyrinth of emotions and thoughts, where present, past and future merge into a vast uplifting eternity. One of the best crafted uses of mise-en-abîme i recall ever seeing in a movie! Raimund is Raimund, but he's also Pascal Mercier, and also Amadeu Prado and also You. There's a fiction within a fiction here: a book within a book within a movie. A lie within a lie: a poet within a reader, within a spectator, within a person. This dilution between fiction and reality and between the actor and the audience often occurs, but rarely is it ever a theme, rarely is it ever presented as a question to the audience and rarely so beautifully answered. This game of mirrors will leave you full of wonder and hungry for life. There couldn't be a better outcome for a story that starts with a suicide attempt... There's too many reasons to watch this movie and too little space to review it properly unfortunately... The scenery of Lisbon, the universal anguish of the characters, the excruciating portrayal of the Portuguese dictatorship, the lessons it offers on some of the most important questions one can ask oneself... Do yourself a favor and go see it!

I am glad that I saw this movie. It was based on the novel which tells about a Swiss professor called Raimund who saves a young woman from jumping off the bridge. Then the girl disappears, so the Raimund got her red coat and a book. He starts to read it to find why she was trying to kill herself. That he finds something deep inside which is more than he had in his life. So he abandons his class in half way and pursue the thrilling adventurous quest to find more about the person he read in the book. Everything he was curious about is only grows bigger than he imagined. He meets many people regarding that book and they tell the same stories from each of their own perspectives which happened in back 70s. Now, Rainmund asks one question himself after knowing everything and it might be yours too if you saw the movie.

The movie looked exact copy of a novel, like I read some novel. The story telling which transforms the screen constantly between now and 70s were clearly maintained with its destination until the last 10- 20 minutes. Once you know the final conclusion, you may say is that it's because some of you might expect something bigger. But the middle aged or older guys who had experienced life very well will know the meaning of it. Yeah I believe the movie might more suitable for those kinda audience than youngsters.

It was a nice performance by such a great British actor Jeremy Irons. Like I said the story had two diversions, one which set in present time and another in 70s. The present time tale was totally ruled by Jeremy Irons, I liked it more than the 70s tale. The problem with flashback story was its ending, it was very simple especially I expected bit detailed explanation behind character Amadeu's death. And also his failed relationship with Estafania could have been more reasonable. However I am not disappointed with the movie, it was a quite nice drama, in fact awesome. I am not a book fanatic but I love movies based on the novels especially movie like 'Night Train to Lisbon' I won't miss. I say you must go for it if you like the movies which gives more priority to innovative characters than usual theme.

8/10

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")