Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Raimund Gregorius, having saved a beautiful Portuguese woman from leaping to her death, stumbles upon a mesmerizing book by a Portuguese author, which compels him to suddenly abandon the boring life he has led for years and to embark on an enthralling adventure. In search of the author, Gregorius acts as detective, pulling together pieces of a puzzle that involves political and emotional intrigue and the highest possible stakes. His voyage is one that transcends time and space, delving into the realms of history, medicine and love, all in search of true meaning to his life.
Night Train to Lisbon is a competent but somewhat meandering literary adaptation. Jeremy Irons anchors the film with quiet authority, and the Portuguese locations are handsomely shot, but the cinematography rarely transcends postcard prettiness. The plot, built around flashback-within-flashback revelations about a resistance-era author, has genuine intrigue but struggles to maintain momentum across its runtime, leaving the mystery feeling diffuse rather than gripping. The film's concept—a repressed academic reawakened by a stranger's book—is appealing but executed in a fairly conventional European art-house thriller manner, offering little that feels truly singular. The ending resolves things tidily but without the emotional or thematic punch the setup promised, landing closer to satisfactory than resonant.