Mysteries of Lisbon (PG)
HHH
Dir: Raoul Ruiz
With: Adriano Luz, Clotilde Hesme
Running time: 266 minutes
COURTESY of a suggestion from Herald reader Jim Tague, reviews on this page now include a running time for films (thanks Jim; the cheque is in the Christmas post). The change came in the nick of time to highlight that Mysteries of Lisbon, a period drama from the late Raoul Ruiz, comes in at an astonishing 266 minutes.
Yes, four hours and 26 minutes. Worth it? Yes, if you like this sort of extravaganza, and even if you don't chances are you will find the tale of abandoned children, vengeful countesses and mysterious priests strangely beguiling.
Adapted from the book by Camilo Castelo Branco, the story is set in the nineteenth century and opens in a simple enough way with a poor little orphanage boy wondering if he might be of noble birth. Padre Dinis (Adriano Luz) feels sorry for the child, seeing in him a little of himself at that age. As he begins to recall his own past, so begins the process by which one story streams into another.
Mysteries of Lisbon is a mystery all to itself in terms of style. Though theatrical and rather stagey, and with dialogue of the period, it should keep the viewer at arm's length. Yet such is the quality of the writing, and the performances, the viewer is easily drawn in. It's like watching the world's grandest soap opera.
Adding to the theatrical feel, Ruiz positions servants in many scenes as unobserved witnesses. As we watch the watchers watching the watched there's a delicious sense of intimacy, as if we are privy to some scandal brewing.
A gloriously realised piece, but it is, be warned, a long haul. Not to worry: those good folk at the Filmhouse have scheduled a 15 minute interval.
Filmhouse, Edinburgh, January 2-5.
alison rowat's film a-z: page 22
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