Review: ‘Mysteries of Lisbon’
Movies that critics compare to soap operas usually aren't done so in a positive way. Normally, that's a shorthand for saying that a movie is heavily melodramatic or filled with you're-not-gonna-believe-this plot twists. But on occasion the comparison is meant as a compliment when the filmmaker manages to take those conventions and produce something sumptuous and moving out of it. "Mysteries of Lisbon" is such a film.
Directed by Chilean filmmaker Raul Ruiz and based on the 19th century novel by Camilo Castelo Branco, "Mysteries of Lisbon" is part soap opera, part 1980s-style miniseries. (Perhaps not surprisingly, it originally aired in six parts on Portuguese television.) Running over four hours -- there is an intermission -- the film starts off being about a young orphan, Pedro (Joao Luis Arrais), who is in search of his parents. But it seems like every person he meets along the way has his or her own story too, something they're running away from or some great regret that still eats at them. The "Mysteries" in the title doesn't just refer to Pedro's years-long quest; everybody in this film has secrets, and all of them will come pouring out by the time the closing credits roll.
In general, I admit to finding the soap-opera-as-movie genre a bit trying. Even when it's an accomplished example of the form, like the 2003 Cannes smash "The Best of Youth" or Luchino Visconti's "The Leopard," the characters' overly ripe emotional choices always strike me as too theatrical or artificial to fully surrender myself to. That resistance persisted some in "Mysteries of Lisbon," but what helps immensely is that Ruiz moves things along at a brisk pace. Also, the characters have real steel to them, particularly Adriano Luz as a priest more invested in Pedro's search than he first lets on. Luz isn't the only person playing a character with more than one identity in "Mysteries of Lisbon," but the twists are largely handled with a matter-of-factness that undercuts their pulpy absurdity.
In addition, "Mysteries of Lisbon" is simply stunning to watch. A period piece featuring beautiful clothes is nothing new, but it's the constantly inventive compositions that Ruiz and cinematographer Andre Szankowski bring to the material that makes it so striking. Beyond that, though, Ruiz uses terrific long takes that are elegant and daring, building tension in scenes that don't immediately seem like they should be tense. The best example of this is a single-take sequence in which two men arrive at a clearing in the forest to fight a duel, discuss the duel, fight their duel, and come to a reconciliation after the duel's completion. This should be awfully showy, but in keeping with Ruiz's style it's not. His camera constantly stays at a distance, watching the events like some disinterested god. It's another way in which he keeps his drama from diving headfirst into the excess of soap opera.
Because of that detachment -- not to mention the gorgeous period setting and occasional duel -- "Mysteries of Lisbon" has been compared to Stanley Kubrick's underrated "Barry Lyndon." Like "Lyndon," Ruiz's film has an impressive ability at recreating the past in a way that seems vital but also encased in amber, as if we're sneaking a peek at a time that happened outside of reality, no matter how realistic it all feels. But "Mysteries of Lisbon" doesn't quite have Kubrick's sense of irony -- and Ruiz certainly doesn't have a comparably terrific ending. For all its strengths, the film shortchanges us a bit with its seemingly ambiguous finale, which answers some of those "Mysteries" in a way that's not so satisfying. After living with these characters for such a long time, it's disappointing that Ruiz can't quite give them the sendoff they (and we) deserve.
Grade: B+
