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.
"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
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
Collector’s booklet including essays and photos
35 min interview with Raúl Ruiz for CinéCinéma
Interview with screenwriter Carlos Saboga
Roundtable critical discussion about the film for French television
Segment on novelist Camilo Castelo Branco and the film
Radio interview with Raúl Ruiz on France Culture| Theatrical Trailer