Good movie but grossly overrated

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

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.

I read the novel in Japanese translation in 2015 and have watched the film only recently, that is in the fall of 2016. Just about a good long time for a Raimund Gregorius character to grow in my mind. Adaptation of the literature, delicately weaved with two languages i.e. originally written in German with Portuguese quotes everywhere, must have been a lot of hard work. Given that, I reckon that this film adaptation was masterfully done. I was intrigued, like I was in the novel, into the thick narratives of Gregorius. Sadly, however, one critical element I had enjoyed in the novel was completely missing in the film: luxury of experience, though Gregorius, being left alone in the vast void of ignorance of the Portuguese language. Throughout the story, Gregorius struggled with the Portuguese language in the novel, while in the film, everyone speaks in English. Having said that, the film's visualization was amazing. I was amusingly impressed by the magic of colors, and a skillful camera work to capture the beauty of the historic town. Needless to say, perhaps, performances are superb. Screenplay were tactful enough to convey the multiple layers of the novel in a way not to confuse the audiences. If you are reading this, I recommend you to enjoy the film first, and then to pick up the novel. I bet you won't regret it.

"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).

This is one terrific movie, I liked it so much, I will buy the DVD. Jeremy Irons is an excellent actor and does not disappoint in this very cerebral film. The philosophy quotes from the small book supposedly written by Amadeus are spellbinding, makes me want to get the book! Irons appears as an absent minded professor, in what he describes later as his 'boring' life as a professor of history and language. As a teacher he does not have to relate to others deeply, as each year the students changed, but when he saves the girl from jumping off the bridge, takes her to his class during which she disappears, leaving her coat behind. Irons then tries to find her and to trace a book that he finds in her coat pocket, this spurs him to find the girl and the author, Amadeus. Charlotte Rampling as always gives just the most perfect performance in her role as the grieving sister of Amadeus. I love the way the questions Irons asks to each of the players in this drama goes into the past, to their younger selves trying to explain their role as rebels in the war. Irons persistence gets the whole story. I love British actors and this movie is a testament to their excellence the story, worthy of them. I hope to see more of this in the future.😃🎓