One rainy morning in Bern, Switzerland, Raimund Gregorius (Jeremy Irons) was rushing to work when he spotted a young woman about to jump off a bridge. He tackled her, preventing her from suicide, and then escorted her to his classroom. She sat in the room briefly before fleeing. Raimund saw that she had left her coat. He grabbed it and went to find her; she was gone. He checked the bridge but did not see her body in the river below. He found a book in her coat and began reading it. There was a train ticket enclosed. On the spur of the moment, he went to the train station and took that train to Lisbon.
In Lisbon, Raimund sought the author of the book, a man named Amadeu Prado. It turned out that he had died in 1974. Raimund set about interviewing those who knew him and, in the process, discovering Amadeu's role in fighting the Salazar Regime.
This is a story told out of order. Each person offers a part of the story that may come before, after, or coincident with parts already revealed. All of this is in flashback. As such, each part is played by two actors, the young one and the old one. No aging makeup here. He chatted with Amadeu's sister (Charlotte Rampling), his priest (Christopher Lee), Joao from the Resistance, his best friend Jorge, and the mystery woman, Estefania (Lena Olin). If he took notes, he could write a biography. Would it have been easier to just tell the story of Amadeu without this framing of Raimund's awkward investigation? Maybe. Then again, by framing it this way, we see the contrast between their fiery youth and their sunset years, providing an opportunity to explore the long-term impact of their actions.
I had started the book in 2019. I was traveling to Portugal that summer. The book did not hold me. I put it down after 100 pages or so and never picked it up again. Seeing the movie, I'm not suddenly interested in finishing the book.
The movie just okay.
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