This won't be everyone's cup of tea. It's a philosophical (or, perhaps, more accurately, a pseudo-philosophical) journey by a professor who searches for the truth behind events many years ago and the people involved. Some says it's a more general everyman journey. And it may well be but don't get hung up on that.Although it's essentially slow-paced, the pace is perfect. And it does have lots of drama in the 'past events' scenes and the professor goes through a fair bit of drama and soul-searchin of his own.It has a top notch cast, great scenery and high production values.If you want a real story populated by real characters and are not averse to a little philosophical input, you'll love it.

You stop being genuinely interested in what's going on on the screen after 5 minutes. The plot is nonexistent, the dialogues are just so artificial you wonder how on Earth anyone from the cast could even bother to take part in this.... And why all the characters had to speak that broken English? You literally struggle to understand the muttering and when you do, you wish you didn't. Why secret police officers wear black leather jackets all the time? What's the point of making such a movie? Did they want to show Lisbon? Talk about dictator regime? Earn some retirement money for Mr. Irons? I'd never know.... It's hard to even right 10 lines for a review after seeing this. But I had to make it to save other's time.

This movie involves twin plot lines: Jeremy Irons' character sloughing off his boring his life in Bern, and his making connections among people that lived through a traumatic era of Portugaul's history; facilitating some healing and understanding among them.I thought Irons' journey of self-discovery was by far the more effective story line, though it probably took up less screen time. The historical flashback scenes and interactions with those characters in present time were interesting but felt forced. In essence, Irons unravels an entire web of intrigue by innocently nosing around an author's old haunts; doors open up to him and a long series of events/coincidences allow him to keep sleuthing. I suspect the book does a much better job at unfolding this part of the story.Nevertheless, the performances are strong across the board. There is real chemistry between Irons and his special optometrist friend, Martina Gedeck. I just wish that relationship would have been the major rather than minor theme. And, I really liked how the ending was left as an unanswered question/invitation...roll credits.

A teacher in Switzerland (Irons)saves a girl from jumping off a bridge. He reads a book she had and travels to Lisbon find out more about the author. There is a mild not quite mystery as the teacher delves into the life and death of the author.The good points of this movie are:The story isn't confusing even though a lot of it is told in flashbacks. The deliberate pace isn't boring.There is no unrealistic twist so things are more believable.The casting of the old and young versions of the characters is very good and sometimes they even look alike. It's easy to tell who is who.The repression of the dictatorship isn't over done. One torture scene is all you need for emphasis. The actors bother to have a faint Portuguese accent. The acting is good. Jeremy Irons is suited to this role - not too bumbling if a tad old for the hinted romance. Charlotte Rampling as the author's sister is more vulnerable looking than usual and quite effective. Melanie Laurent as the author's love interest is well cast with dark hair to look more Portuguese and her diction is surprisingly lucid. Jack Huston of Boardwalk Empire is quite suited to the role with a face that seems to fit flashbacks. This is a good movie with good actors and an interesting story. Worth watching.