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Mysteries of Lisbon

Play trailer Poster for Mysteries of Lisbon 2011 4h 26m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 55 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
A 19th-century Portuguese man recalls his youth in a church-run orphanage.

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Mysteries of Lisbon

Mysteries of Lisbon

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Critics Consensus

Mysteries of Lisbon achieves an epic heft through an unhurried pace and lush photography, its beguiling episodes culminating in an impressive whole that justifies a lengthy runtime.

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Critics Reviews

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Jonathan Romney Sight & Sound 07/06/2018
All these could be seen as gratuitous flourishes of auteur style, but they serve to undermine the naturalistic illusion, to remind us that everything we see is an effect of narration - and perhaps, more than that, of dream. Go to Full Review Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard 12/09/2011
3/5
If you have time, dip in. Go to Full Review Tim Robey Daily Telegraph (UK) 12/08/2011
3/5
[It reminds] us of Ruiz's gifts with light and colour, his ambitions with narrative, his sometimes interesting, sometimes frustrating remoteness, and his preoccupations with myth, the avant-garde and 19th-century classicism, all at once. Go to Full Review Matthew Wilder Nashville Scene 10/23/2024
"A cascade of hidden personal backstories that you feel could extend out to all of humankind." Go to Full Review David Bax Battleship Pretension 05/31/2020
No space in the frame-indeed, no second in Mysteries of Lisbon's very long runtime-is wasted. Go to Full Review Peter Sobczynski eFilmCritic.com 05/29/2020
An eminently binge-worthy saga filled with excitement, drama, humor, history, beautiful photography and good performance Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Scott R @ScottR Nov 25 NYT 1000 list. Some impressive art, but a droll plot that confused and was tedious. I was glad when this bizarre story was over. Should have and could have been better told. Saw on tubi. See more Alec B @Alec97 10/10/2024 A gorgeous and intimate epic. The movie convinces you completely that every coincidence, revealed in near endless flashback, makes total sense. See more 12/05/2020 Genteel and epic in scope, barely holds on to interest despite beautiful cinematography See more 06/22/2017 Beautiful to watch with incredible attention to detail, Raoul Ruiz' masterfully crafted Mysteries of Lisbon is a triumph of modern cinema that justifies its intimidating run time with an ambitious narrative structure and thought-provoking meditations on storytelling and the trustworthiness of human recollection. See more 06/04/2016 Damn this movie is long.. See more 04/04/2014 A very long melodrama based on a classic 19th Century Portuguese novel. Much of the acting is quite good if a bit stiff and some of the dialog is baroque and unrealistic. It has almost soap opera like twists and complications but the story is slow -- very slow, sometimes boringly slow. A film to be enjoyed for its cinematography and period flourishes perhaps but not a film many will find worth sitting through. See more Read all reviews
Mysteries of Lisbon

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Cast & Crew

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Raúl Ruiz

Director

João Arrais

João Child

Adriano Luz

Father Dinis

Maria João Bastos

Countess Ângela de Lima

Ricardo Pereira

Knife Eater

José Afonso Pimentel

João Adult

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Mysteries of Lisbon

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Movie Info

Synopsis A 19th-century Portuguese man recalls his youth in a church-run orphanage.
Director
Raúl Ruiz
Screenwriter
Carlos Saboga, Camilo Castelo Branco
Distributor
Music Box Films
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
Portuguese
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 17, 2011, Limited
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Aug 5, 2011
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$110.5K
Runtime
4h 26m
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