Mysteries of Lisbon

About the Film

Raul Ruiz's, Mysteries of Lisbon, masterful adaptation of the eponymous nineteenth-century Portuguese novel (by Camilo Castelo Branco) evokes the complex intertwined narratives of Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens. The core story centers on Joao, the bastard child of an ill-fated romance between two members of the aristocracy who are forbidden to marry, and his quest to discover the truth of his parentage. But this is just the start of an engrossing tale that follows a multitude of characters whose fates conjoin, separate and then rejoin again over three decades in Portugal, Spain, France and Italy.

Reactions

"The most glorious achievement of Raúl Ruiz’s prodigious career and one of the first cinematic masterpieces of this century." — Film Comment

“An audacious, extravagantly entertaining Dickensian melodrama.” – Karen Durbin, Elle

"An elegant, exquisitely produced jewel of a film…evoking the novels of Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens." – Indiewire

"Hypnotically beautiful, playful...lavish, elegant, operatic…It immersed me, it wove a spell…" – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Awards

• National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA 2012 - 2nd Place NSFC Award, Best Foreign Language Film
• London Critics Circle Film Awards 2012 ALFS Award Nominee - Foreign Language Film of the Year
• Fotogramas de Plata 2012 Nominee - Best Foreign Film, Raoul Ruiz
• Winner! Athens Panorama of European Cinema 2011 - Best Film
• Winner! Golden Globes, Portugal 2011 - Best Actor, Adriano Luz
• Winner! Golden Globes, Portugal 2011 - Best Actress, Maria João Bastos
• Winner! Golden Globes, Portugal 2011 - Best Film, Raoul Ruiz (director), Paolo Branco (producer)
• Golden Globes, Portugal 2011 Nominee - Best Actor, Ricardo Pereira
• Golden Globes, Portugal 2011 Nominee - Best Actress, Joana de Verona
• Winner! Satellite Awards 2011 - Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language Film
• Satellite Awards 2011 Nominee - Best Art Direction & Production Design
• Satellite Awards 2011 Nominee - Best Costume Design
• Winner! Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2011 - Best Foreign-Language Film
• Winner! São Paulo International Film Festival 2010 Critics Award - Best Film, Raoul Ruiz
• Winner! San Sebastián International Film Festival 2010 Silver Seashell Award - Best Director, Raoul Ruiz
• San Sebastián International Film Festival 2010 Golden Seashell Award Nominee - Best Film, Raoul Ruiz
• São Paulo International Film Festival 2010 - Official Selection
• Toronto International Film Festival 2010 – Official Selection
• New York Film Festival 2010 - Official Selection
• Winner! Prix Louis Delluc 2010 - Best French Film Award, Raoul Ruiz
• Vienna International Film Festival 2010 - Official Selection
• London Film Festival 2010 - Official Selection
• Torino Film Festival 2010 - Official Selection

Best of 2011 Year-End Lists:

The New York Times – A.O. Scott
The New York Times – Manohla Dargis
New York Magazine – David Edelstein
Film Comment
IndieWIRE
Slant Magazine
NPR
Village Voice

Cast & Crew

Cast

Father Dinis: Adriano Luz
Ângela de Lima: Maria João Bastos
Alberto de Magalhães: Ricardo Pereira
Elisa de Montfort: Clotilde Hesme
Pedro da Silva: Afonso Pimentel
Pedro da Silva – Child: João Luis Arrais
Count of Santa Bárbara: Albano Jerónimo
D. Pedro da Silva: João Baptista
Sebastião de Melo: Martin Loizillon
Benoît de Montfort: Julien Alluguette

Crew

Director: Raul Ruiz
Producer: Paulo Branco
Screenplay by Carlos Saboga
Based on the Homonymous Novel by Camilo Castelo Branco
Cinematographer: André Szankowski (a.i.p)
Music: Jorge Arriagada and Luis Freitas Branco
Art Direction: Isabel Branco
Editing: Valéria Sarmiento and Carlos Madaleno
Production Manager: Ana Pinhão Moura?
Ad: João Pinhão and José Maria Vaz da Silva
Sound: Ricardo Leal, Miguel Martins and António Lopes
Production Coordinators: Julita Santos and Anne Mattatia (France)
Casting Director: Patrícia Vasconcelos

Technical Info

Production Year: 2010
Release Date: 08/05/11
Countries of Production: France, Portugal
Languages: French, Portuguese
Running Time: 4h 17m
Screen Ratio: 1.85:1
Sound: Dolby Digital
Color: Color
Rating: Unrated

Mysteries of Lisbon - Press Page

Awards

• National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA 2012 - 2nd Place NSFC Award, Best Foreign Language Film
• London Critics Circle Film Awards 2012 ALFS Award Nominee - Foreign Language Film of the Year
• Fotogramas de Plata 2012 Nominee - Best Foreign Film, Raoul Ruiz
• Winner! Athens Panorama of European Cinema 2011 - Best Film
• Winner! Golden Globes, Portugal 2011 - Best Actor, Adriano Luz
• Winner! Golden Globes, Portugal 2011 - Best Actress, Maria João Bastos
• Winner! Golden Globes, Portugal 2011 - Best Film, Raoul Ruiz (director), Paolo Branco (producer)
• Golden Globes, Portugal 2011 Nominee - Best Actor, Ricardo Pereira
• Golden Globes, Portugal 2011 Nominee - Best Actress, Joana de Verona
• Winner! Satellite Awards 2011 - Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language Film
• Satellite Awards 2011 Nominee - Best Art Direction & Production Design
• Satellite Awards 2011 Nominee - Best Costume Design
• Winner! Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2011 - Best Foreign-Language Film
• Winner! São Paulo International Film Festival 2010 Critics Award - Best Film, Raoul Ruiz
• Winner! San Sebastián International Film Festival 2010 Silver Seashell Award - Best Director, Raoul Ruiz
• San Sebastián International Film Festival 2010 Golden Seashell Award Nominee - Best Film, Raoul Ruiz
• São Paulo International Film Festival 2010 - Official Selection
• Toronto International Film Festival 2010 – Official Selection
• New York Film Festival 2010 - Official Selection
• Winner! Prix Louis Delluc 2010 - Best French Film Award, Raoul Ruiz
• Vienna International Film Festival 2010 - Official Selection
• London Film Festival 2010 - Official Selection
• Torino Film Festival 2010 - Official Selection

Best of 2011 Year-End Lists:

The New York Times – A.O. Scott
The New York Times – Manohla Dargis
New York Magazine – David Edelstein
Film Comment
IndieWIRE
Slant Magazine
NPR
Village Voice

Reactions

"The most glorious achievement of Raúl Ruiz’s prodigious career and one of the first cinematic masterpieces of this century." — Film Comment

“An audacious, extravagantly entertaining Dickensian melodrama.” – Karen Durbin, Elle

"An elegant, exquisitely produced jewel of a film…evoking the novels of Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens." – Indiewire

"Hypnotically beautiful, playful...lavish, elegant, operatic…It immersed me, it wove a spell…" – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Detailed Film Info

Mysteries of Lisbon plunges us into a veritable whirlwind of adventures and escapades, coincidences and revelations, sentiments and violent passions, vengeance, love affairs, all wrapped in a rhapsodic voyage that takes us from Portugal to France, Italy, and as far as Brazil. In this Lisbon of intrigue and hidden identities, we encounter a series of characters all somewhat linked to the destiny of Pedro da Silva, orphan in a boarding school. Father Dinis, a descendent of the aristocratic libertines, later becomes a hero who defends justice, a countess maddened by her jealousy and set on her vengeance, a prosperous businessman who had mysteriously made his fortune as a bloodthirsty pirate; these and many more all cross in a story set in the 19th century and all searching for the true identity of our main character.

Trailer

Photos