Review of Mysteries of Lisbon (2010) by Nick D — 27 Jan 2012
A fever-dream of a movie in which Ruiz uses an immense bag of cinematic tricks to depict the formal social mores of several generations of European aristocrats, (Portuguese, French, Italian) in the wake of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.
Sumptuous, abrupt, hallucenogenic, complex, confusing, amusing and addictive, MYSTERIES was initially shown as a TV miniseries, later cut down to a 4 1/2 hours, two-part cinema experience. Uniformly beautiful, these men and women (who are extremely difficult to sort out) drift through episodes of love, betrayal, treachery, thievery, piracy, debauchery, duels, vengeance, lying, seduction, orphanhood, war, religion --- a grand play for us to watch, and in case you miss the point, there's a leitmotif of a children's shadow-puppet stage to remind you, along with a peekaboo cinematography style that turns you into a voyeur.
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This review of Mysteries of Lisbon (2010) was written by Nick D on 27 Jan 2012.
Mysteries of Lisbon has generally received positive reviews.
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