The movie "Night Train to Lisbon" is adapted from the novel of the same name. It not only narrates a journey across time and space but also explores many ineffable experiences in life: loneliness, the finiteness of life, death, friendship, love, and loyalty. Its emotional intensity and depth of thought are deeply moving. The original novel has sold 2 million copies worldwide, topped the German bestseller list for 140 weeks, was officially published in Taiwan in 2011, and became a bestseller in major bookstore chains.
The movie "Night Train to Lisbon" portrays the chilly urban landscape of Lisbon (Image provided by Cai Chang International)
Embark on an unknown journey to find the long-lost self
Gregoris, an elderly and reclusive high school teacher, one morning unexpectedly stops a woman in a red coat from jumping into a river on his way to school. However, after the mysterious woman leaves the classroom without a word, Gregoris finds the Portuguese writer Prado’s notebook "The Alchemist of Words" and a train ticket to Lisbon in her abandoned red coat. Inspired by a line from the book: “If we can only live by relying on a small part of our inner selves, what should we do with the rest?” and the ineffable call of the woman in red, Gregoris decisively boards the train to Lisbon to uncover the life story of Prado.
In Lisbon, Gregoris investigates Prado’s friends and family, gradually reconstructing the image of this extraordinary doctor and writer who resisted Portugal’s dictatorship, as well as the full picture of his passionate life. Through this journey that takes him off the beaten path, and through encounters and intersections with people and events, he begins to reflect on his own dull existence. This is not a journey of confusion or restlessness; rather, in the quietude of his later years, the intersection across time and space with Prado allows Gregoris, while “heading” toward an unknown world, to gradually “return” to his most authentic self, and to re-examine the choices and answers at every stage of his past life...
Journey into the unknown, searching for the long-lost self — the movie "Night Train to Lisbon" (Image provided by Cai Chang International)
Cannes Golden Palm-winning director Bille August, continuing his keen sensitivity in adapting literature to film, interprets the profound meanings of drifting and seeking in life through this shocking and brilliant work, using a surreal yet deliberately stagnant visual atmosphere.
Main cast: Jeremy Irons [Damage, The House of the Spirits] – Academy Award-winning actor
Mélanie Laurent [Inglourious Basterds, Beginnings]
Jack Huston [The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Boardwalk Empire]
Martina Gedeck [The Lives of Others, The Good Shepherd]
The film was released on March 29.