A small masterpiece from one of cinema’s great miniaturists, this exquisite short feature by Manoel de Oliveira is based on the short story by Portuguese writer Eça de Queirós. This sumptuous tale honors the sublime ardor and mysteries of love, unraveling the true image behind the fantasy.

A Borgesian matryoshka doll of storytelling, Mysteries of Lisbon is Chilean maestro Raúl Ruiz’s magnum opus—a sumptuous period epic in six parts. Playing in its rarely screened extended version, this sweeping melodramatic saga is Dickensian in scope and magisterial in novelistic ambition.

Mysteries of Lisbon’s myriad flashbacks gain a new perspective, as Father Dinis moves to the center of Raúl Ruiz’s narrative labyrinth. Following his arrival in Episode 2, the series finds its villain in the cruel Alberto de Magalhaes, while young love beats an inexorable path toward tragedy.

All the world’s a stage for young Pedro, who underlines the theatricality of Raúl Ruiz’s lavish epic with the cutout figures in his puppet theater. Secrets beget revelations in this riveting second episode, as wicked whispers spread like wildfire through the drawing rooms of Portuguese society.

Mysteries of Lisbon moves to Revolutionary France, where Léa Seydoux joins the expansive cast as a young noblewoman at the center of an embittered love triangle. As more furtive personal histories are revealed, the narrative fog begins to dissipate, and Ruiz clears a path for the ultimate revenge.