Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Disturbing yet enthralling

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

In the first part of the movie when the Portuguese woman is tackled by the teacher character I felt that thud. What happened next is an anti climax. Instead of a conversation about what was happening we got a kind of non-physical shrug and some vague agreement that the woman will go with the teacher back to his place of work. The movie is about pivotal moments and about what might have been. It is about memories and places and while there is physical travel it is more about about experience and the alternate possibilities that draw us into the story. I did like the sense of revelation that the teacher - Raimund was on a journey to get in touch with part of himself. At various times he seems oblivious to his context and other times quite the artful observer but only second hand through the eyes of the poet whose life he is researching. That poet was a bit of a philosopher which resonates with our Professor / teacher character. There is a key moment early on his trip to Portugal where a cyclist collides with him and breaks the lens in his glasses. This is a very clunky metaphor to show us the character quite literally seeing events in a new way. His new glasses will take some getting used to says the Portuguese woman who is also an optometrist - a doctor of sorts. The parallel story of the professor and the optometrist is somewhat muted but it does counter balance the historical back story which is revealed to us through the memories of various characters using flashback sequences. What works well in the movie is a series of cameos from older actors. The philosophical tone of the book is also perceptive. The way we notice the multiple levels or layers in the story is also gentle and unforced.What doesn't work so well is way everyone speaks English when Portuguese and subtitles would have been a better choice. I'm not sure if Jeremy Irons is supposed to be Swiss or English but he does appear to speak Spanish and Portuguese as a professor of languages would. It is just I can't remember the last time I saw Irons in a film and he always seems to be very English so maybe a less typecast actor would have been better in that role. As a series of reflective observations on life and how some moments can bring big changes I enjoyed this somewhat oblique story.

to define it as a provocative film is the first temptation. because it is one of films proposing more than a story. it is a trip across the recent history. it is exploration of roots of the evil and sacrifice. it is answer to delicate questions about contemporary world as result of the pressure of past. it is a love story with strange and impressive result. and, not the last, it is new occasion for Jeremy Irons to give an admirable role. at the first sigh, it is all. but , in fact, it is a personal experience. like the book. so, for each of his viewers, the answers , the verdict are inside of him.

Based on the novel "Night Train to Lisbon" by the Swiss writer Pascal Mercier, this film, directed by the Danish Bille August, offers an international cast with actors from the USA, the UK, Germany, Sweden and France. The historical context (Salazar's dictatorship and his Estado Novo) provides a particular background to the story as the public witnesses how Raimund Gregorius finds a new sense to his life thanks to the adventures of the resistance of that period. Through several encounters and beautiful flashbacks, we gradually discover Amadeu de Prado's life, the charismatic Portuguese doctor and philosopher whose story awes the teacher. The poetry of the film does not only lie in the words of this fictitious author, but also in the fondness that Raimund feels for this man about whom he knows nothing but that changes his existence. The warm colours of Lisbon (that contrast with the cold colours of Bern) and the different characters give the film a certain singularity. It is both in the past and in the present that Raimund builds his new existence that, to some extent, is similar to Amadeu's. But, concerning love, the teacher does not take the same decisions and he no longer finds his reflection in Amadeu, whose tragedy moves us profoundly.

Well, I don't give reviews very easily and I can count for how many movies I have given my honest review. Everything has been said about this movie by other peoples and mostly almost all are positive. First thing first I have avoided to watch this movie for a long time after seeing the overall rating given by critics for this movie which is not totally justified specially after I watched the movie. So after reading quite a few readings of users reviews I put aside Critics reviews and start watching the movie by giving 15-20 Minutes and then I watched without single break till it ends. This movie was so awesome I cant believe the low under 7 rating it should be at least 7 or 8. This movie has everything and it execute so great hats off to director to pull out the novel with great cinematography and bring the novel to silver screen. This movie has it all, Love, betrayal, friendship, heartache, emotions, revolution, human touch, midlife crisis and combine with superb acting by everyone. But two people stands out clearly, Jeremy Irons and Jack Houston it doesn't mean others didn't they do part but Jeremy and Jack are really good, their expressions and overall acting showing the pain of love, emotions and the life they trapped in. Everyone at some stage of life really wanted to go out and free from themselves its shows greatly in this movie. Billie August did a great job. And this is one of the finest Jeremy Irons movie so far.