Mysteries of Lisbon 2011

As the cinematic narrative unfolds, our attention is initially drawn to João Arrais (João Arrais), an orphaned youth struggling to find his place within the confines of a Portuguese school run by the compassionate Father Dinis (Adriano Luz) during the tumultuous Revolução Liberal era. The young boy’s innocence is brutally assaulted when he is mercilessly bullied by a classmate, who cruelly whispers that João is the offspring of a criminal. As if this affliction were not enough, his fragile state worsens after falling ill, and it seems as though fate has dealt him a devastating blow.

However, a beacon of hope emerges in the form of a lovely woman, who watches over João’s bed with maternal concern. Upon his recovery, Father Dinis takes the boy to visit this enigmatic figure, revealing her to be none other than João’s long-lost mother, Countess Ângela de Lima (Maria João Bastos). Long imprisoned in her own home by her husband, the Count of Santa Bárbara (Albano Jerónimo), Ângela has been living a life of quiet desperation. Dinis proves instrumental in helping her escape when her husband is away fighting for his revolutionary ideals.

As the story progresses, we finally discover that João’s true parentage lies with Pedro da Silva (João Baptista), a young nobleman beset by poverty and social status. Ângela’s own father, the Marquis of Montezelos (Rui Morrison), rejects da Silva’s offer of marriage, instead hiring the notorious assassin “Knife Eater” (Ricardo Pereira) to eliminate the impoverished young nobleman. In a poignant moment, da Silva finds refuge with Dinis and shares his tale before succumbing to his mortal fate.

Dinis assumes the guise of a gypsy and follows Ângela into the countryside where she gives birth to João. He also intercepts Knife Eater, purchasing his silence after discovering that he has been tasked by Ângela’s father with abducting and killing the infant. Dinis takes it upon himself to raise João as his own, while Ângela is married off to the Count of Santa Bárbara at her father’s behest.

In the present day, the Count spreads malicious rumors about Dinis being Ângela’s lover. When Father Dinis confronts him to clear his name, he finds the dying Count tended by his loyal maid and lover Eugénia (Joana de Verona). The priest also encounters Knife Eater once more, who has returned from Brazil after using Dinis’s money to amass a questionable fortune. Now known as Alberto de Magalhães, Knife Eater taunts the Count’s slanderous claims. Upon the Count’s passing, Ângela refuses the inheritance and instead elects to leave João with Dinis before finding solace in a convent.

As the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear that Dinis’s existence is shrouded in mystery. The revelation comes courtesy of Friar Baltasar da Encarnação, who shares his own tumultuous past with Dinis. In a bygone era, Friar Baltasar was Álvaro de Albuquerque, a charismatic figure who found himself entangled in a forbidden love affair with the Countess de Vizo. Their passion knew no bounds, and they fled to Italy together, where tragedy struck when the Countess succumbed to childbirth, leaving Dinis behind. Álvaro’s subsequent decision to surrender young Dinis to a friend set off a chain reaction of events that ultimately placed him in the care of a French nobleman.

As Dinis grew into a young man, he found himself fighting for Napoleon’s army in Spain under the alias Sebastião de Melo. Meanwhile, De Magalhães, once a notorious figure known as the Knife Eater, had seemingly reformed and settled into a happy marriage with Eugénia, the former mistress of Count Santa Bárbara. However, his past soon came back to haunt him in the form of Elisa de Montfort, a widowed French duchess who sought revenge by returning the payment he had made for her services many years prior.

The complex web of relationships and secrets was further complicated when Dinis confided in Elisa about her mother’s demise. De Magalhães appeared on the scene, his fury nearly reaching a boiling point as he confronted Elisa. It took Dinis’s intervention to prevent a tragic outcome, but not before De Magalhães revealed his long-held animosity towards Elisa.

As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Dinis is haunted by his own personal demons. His connection to Blanche de Montfort, the woman he loved in his youth, was marked by tragedy and heartache. Her untimely death at the hands of her husband Benoît, who had been driven mad with jealousy, left Dinis reeling.

Years later, João, Dinis’s son, grew into a young poet and encountered Elisa, whose resemblance to his mother was undeniable. When he fell deeply in love with her, Elisa enlisted his aid in avenging her honor by challenging De Magalhães to a duel. However, De Magalhães was able to talk João out of the fight, revealing the dark secrets of their past and the role he had played in the accidental death of Elisa’s twin brother, Arthur.

As João prepared for his own supposed demise, he dictated his memoirs from his deathbed. His final vision was a haunting one – the memory of his mother watching over him as a child, lying sick in bed. The narrative concludes with João setting sail for a distant colony, forever changed by the revelations of his family’s troubled past.