Culture

Mysteries of Lisbon is a long movie – as it should be. Based on the nineteenth-century classic Portuguese novel Os Mistérios de Lisboa, this film adaptation’s length enables the novel’s full scope to be explored – in particular its intertwining stories, multiple locations and fabulous, romantic characters (a countess and her illegitimate son! A priest in a love triangle! A count who was once a burping murderous bandit!).

Sumptuously filmed and languorously paced, Chilean master filmmaker Raúl Ruiz fully recreates and romanticises the world of nineteenth-century Europe. But the gorgeous costumes, period instruments, palaces and horse-drawn carriages never overwhelm the stories or the performances. Adriano Luz gives a particularly fine and understated performance as Father Dinis, and Maria João Bastos is arresting as the tortured Ángela. The consistency of these performances is all the more impressive given the length of some of the takes (one such take lasts a full seven minutes and features a good old-fashioned duel and a suicide). The gliding camera movements, classically arranged shots and brilliantly melodramatic plotlines of intrigue and tragedy all make this film a fully immersive experience.

I will say, though, that the length is both a positive and a negative. Its 4 hours and 26 minutes are split into two separate screenings, which I saw back to back. In retrospect, this wasn’t a good idea – my attention wandered in the second half, especially since it’s here that the storytelling becomes more diffuse. Let’s face it, can your arse endure sitting for four and a half hours? If you see it, maybe go on separate days. Or, if it’s no longer in theatres, get the DVD of the original six-episode miniseries version, so you can pause, stretch, and then dive back into the world of Mysteries of Lisbon.

Feby Idrus