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Night Train to Lisbon

A low-energy historical detective story

A stuffy Brit academic (Jeremy Irons) who describes himself as boring (he’s right) impulsively walks out of his Swiss classroom and hops a train to Lisbon to find out more about Portuguese poet and doctor Amadeu de Prado.

In a movie so titled, you might think you’re in for a little noirish intrigue instead of this low-energy historical detective story. Lots of flashbacks, exposition and philosophical mutterings. It’s not terrible; the prestigious cast includes Mélanie Laurent, Jack Huston, Tom Courtenay, Bruno Ganz, Lena Olin and Charlotte Rampling. But the characters never really come alive.

Japanese title: Lisbon ni Sasowarete. (110 min)