"Night Train to Lisbon" (2012, Germany/Switzerland/Portugal)

Interweaving past and present, Night Train to Lisbon unfolds like an intimate interview, gently uncovering truths long buried in the depths of history. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Lisbon’s scenic streets, this poetic film delicately portrays the lives of its characters.

Raimund Gregorius (Jeremy Irons), a Swiss professor, saves a woman attempting to jump from a bridge during his morning commute. After the incident, he comes across a book she left behind. Deeply moved by every word written in it, Raimund finds himself abandoning his lecture and rushing to the station to return the train ticket he finds tucked inside the book. On impulse, he boards the night train to Lisbon. The journey from Switzerland to Portugal alone evokes an undeniable sense of romantic yearning.

Upon arriving in Lisbon, Raimund’s first stop is the home of the book’s author, Amadeu. As he meets Amadeu’s sister and old friends, the story of the young author's short yet intense life gradually emerges. A man of pride and inner torment who lived through the turmoil of a dictatorship, Amadeu was deeply involved in the resistance, entangled in both friendship and a complex love triangle. As Raimund retraces the steps of Amadeu and those around him, it becomes a journey of self-reflection. A haunting line from Amadeu’s book—"If we are only able to live a small part of what is within us, what happens to the rest?"—resonates deeply with myself, now in the twilight of my life. As I can no longer remain an objective viewer of the film, my memories of youth come flooding back. Eventually, he uncovers the true reason why Amadeu wrote the book. The year 1973, after all, was a pivotal one for both Chile and Portugal—marked by military coups and the fight for freedom.

With stellar performances from Jeremy Irons, Charlotte Rampling, Lena Olin, and others, the film is layered and emotionally rich. Bathed in warm sunlight, framed by cobbled streets and nostalgic trams, and set against the orange and white façades of Lisbon and the dramatic cliffs overlooking the Atlantic, the film is a moving tribute to hope and rebirth. Based on the bestselling novel Night Train to Lisbon, which sold over four million copies, it is a work that lingers in the heart.

It’s a film that skillfully captures the sensibility of youth—a time always reaching toward the future—while gradually exposing the hidden side of Portugal’s resistance movement. Whether the tears stirred by the film are from nostalgia for one’s own youth or from regret over a life too busy to reflect, that is something only the viewer can decide.

Official Selection – 63rd Berlin International Film Festival

Director: Bille August

Cast: Jeremy Irons, Mélanie Laurent, Jack Huston, Martina Gedeck, Tom Courtenay, August Diehl, Bruno Ganz, Lena Olin, Christopher Lee, Charlotte Rampling

2012 / Germany-Switzerland-Portugal / 111 min / English

Distributor (Japan): Kino Films