Directed by: Bille August
Screenplay by: Greg Latter and Ulrich Herrmann
Based on novel by: Pascal Mercier
-Historical, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Starring:
Jeremy Irons as Raimund Gregorius
My rating: 5
Per imdb:
Raimund Gregorius, a Swiss Professor, abandons his lectures and buttoned-down life to embark on a thrilling adventure that will take him on a journey to the very heart of himself.
PeekInside:
My two-bits:
Nothing like solving a mystery in Europe. What fun!
First part of the movie takes place in Switzerland.
We get an eyeful of past and present day Portugal as we follow along on the main character's journey.
I liked watching the narrator's personal growth as he discovers things about the past and the people related to his mystery.
AND, there is a budding romance.
GET familiar with the original...
by Pascal Mercier
Amazon | Goodreads
A huge international best seller, this ambitious novel plumbs the depths of our shared humanity to offer up a breathtaking insight into life, love, and literature itself. A major hit in Germany that went on to become one of Europe’s biggest literary blockbusters in the last five years, Night Train to Lisbon is an astonishing novel, a compelling exploration of consciousness, the possibility of truly understanding another person, and the ability of language to define our very selves.
Raimund Gregorius is a Latin teacher at a Swiss college who one day—after a chance encounter with a mysterious Portuguese woman—abandons his old life to start a new one. He takes the night train to Lisbon and carries with him a book by Amadeu de Prado, a (fictional) Portuguese doctor and essayist whose writings explore the ideas of loneliness, mortality, death, friendship, love, and loyalty.
Gregorius becomes obsessed by what he reads and restlessly struggles to comprehend the life of the author. His investigations lead him all over the city of Lisbon, as he speaks to those who were entangled in Prado’s life. Gradually, the picture of an extraordinary man emerges—a doctor and poet who rebelled against Salazar’s dictatorship.
* part of my Armchair Summer Travel (details) - check it out to enter Armchair Summer Travel Book Box Giveaway
* source: screen shot of Lisbon street
* made me want to visit country? Portugal - YES
