8/10
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.
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