"We live only a small part of the life that is within us..."

Part detective story, part historical romance, part political thriller, "Night Train to Lisbon" pulls you in with the intrigue of its narrative and the earnestness of its investigative protagonist. CineVerse dissembled this locomotive's engine to see how it all fit together and came away with the following notions.

WHAT DID YOU FIND MEMORABLE, INTERESTING, DIFFERENT OR DISTINCTIVE ABOUT THIS PICTURE?

• Raimund serves as a good surrogate for the viewer; we learn, discover and experience as he does, and we are not given any information that he doesn’t uncover. 
• The film features an impressive cast, including Jeremy Irons in an unflattering role, as well as Christopher Lee, Charlotte Rampling, Lena Olin, Bruno Ganz, and Jack Huston. 
• The movie has dual narratives and purposes: 
• It builds intrigue by delving into two mysteries, the second of which branches off quickly from the first: where is the girl he saved, and where is the author of the book she left behind? 
• It relates two main stories: “Raimund’s social renaissance and Amadeu’s role in the 1970s civil rebellion against a brutal regime…Everything may eventually circle back to the young woman on the bridge, but until then it provides a series of flashbacked stories told to Raimund by the few people Amadeu loved,” wrote reviewer Jared Mobarak. 
• The filmmakers and actors form a curious cultural melting pot. According to reviewer David Stratton, “In this case we have a German-Swiss co-production, made by a Danish director, mostly set in Portugal, with a cast that includes actors from Britain, France, Germany, Portugal and Sweden, all speaking English in a bewildering variety of accents.” It’s also interesting that, despite all these varying nationalities, the only language spoken in the film is English. 
• It is curious—if not convenient or contrived—that Raimund happens to be fluent in Portuguese—a lesser spoken language in Europe—and that he is willing to impulsively interrupt his life suddenly on a passionate whim. 
• “The fact that he is completely detached and merely piecing together the story as an interested observer is the major flaw of the film. It drastically lacks stakes. There’s no particular reason for Raimund to be caught up in the escapades of these charismatic Portuguese freedom fighters, except as a distraction to his middle-aged ennui,” wrote reviewer Frances Morton. 

THEMES AT WORK IN THIS FILM

• Taking a journey of self-discovery: the teacher decides to, on a whim, go on a quest, first for a missing girl, then for a missing author; but while searching for both and not finding either, he ends up finding himself. 
• The unpredictability of life, which can be filled with sudden twists, left turns, fateful or happenstance encounters, coincidences and flukes, and unexpected disappointments and joys. 
• Romanticizing and waxing nostalgia about the past. 
• “If it is so that we live only a small part of the life that is within us, what happens to the rest?” as quoted from Amadeu’s book. 
• Seeing the world through different eyes, as symbolized by Raimund's new glasses.
• The love triangle.

NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON CAN REMIND US OF OTHER FILMS, INCLUDING:

• Midnight in Paris 
• The Debt (2010) 
• Rashomon—in that we see different testimonies of the same events from different witnesses 
• Philomena—in how the lead characters of both films went on a search for a missing figure only to find they were dead
• Vertigo, another film featuring a detective who saves and then pursues a suicidal woman
• Citizen Kane, similarly constructed around a reporter trying to learn about the life of an enigmatic dead man
• The Grand Budapest Hotel, whose story is also set in motion by a young woman carrying a treasured memoir detailing the adventures of a heroic figure ensnared in a politically dangerous time 

OTHER MOVIES DIRECTED BY BILLIE AUGUST

• Pelle the Conqueror 
• The House of the Spirits 
• Les Miserables (1998) 
• Smilla’s Sense of Snow