Night Train to Lisbon (2013) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Raimund decides to go to Lisbon because a train ticket to Lisbon falls out of the book while he's reading it at the bookstore. The ticket is for a train departing in just 15 minutes, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the young woman, who left the book behind, compel him to act impulsively. He hopes that finding Amadeu do Prado will lead him back to her.

Foreshadowing: The book contains not just the memoir but also a hidden train ticket, suggesting the woman intended for someone to follow this exact path.

• raimund gregorius
• lisbon
• train ticket
• amadeu do prado
• spontaneous journey

The woman is the granddaughter of Rui Luís Mendes, the infamous Butcher of Lisbon. She leaves Raimund's lecture unexpectedly because she's struggling with the weight of her family's dark legacy and isn't ready for meaningful connection. Her departure is driven by emotional turmoil rather than any sinister intent.

Foreshadowing: The woman purchasing a memoir about resistance fighters and carrying a ticket to Lisbon suggests she has a personal connection to the historical events Raimund will uncover.

• woman in red coat
• mysterious woman
• butcher of lisbon
• rui luís mendes

The woman discovers that her grandfather was Rui Luís Mendes, known as the Butcher of Lisbon, a notorious figure who committed atrocities during Salazar's dictatorship. This revelation causes her profound distress and explains her suicidal impulses on the bridge. When Raimund encounters her again in Lisbon, she reveals she's trying to come to terms with this dark heritage.

Foreshadowing: The woman's despair at the bridge seems tied to something deeper than ordinary crisis, her genetic connection to a notorious torturer.

• butcher of lisbon
• rui luís mendes
• woman heritage
• family secret

Amadeu saved the Butcher of Lisbon, Rui Luís Mendes, as a way to find redemption and purpose in his life. After learning that he had lived a privileged life while others suffered under the dictatorship, Amadeu sought to make amends by joining the resistance. Saving Mendes was likely a calculated moral gamble, using his medical skills to save an enemy in hopes of gaining information or leverage for the resistance cause.

Foreshadowing: João's revelation about Amadeu saving the Butcher shocks his comrades, suggesting this was an unexpected and controversial choice that marked a turning point.

• amadeu do prado
• butcher of lisbon
• redemption
• resistance
• moral choice

Amadeu joins the resistance after learning that he saved the life of the Butcher of Lisbon, a man responsible for torturing and killing innocent people. This realization fills him with guilt and a desire for redemption. Additionally, his graduation speech criticizing the dictatorship already showed his opposition to the regime, but it's the moral awakening from saving the Butcher that drives him to take concrete action.

Foreshadowing: Amadeu's graduation speech critique of the dictatorship shows his rebellious nature long before he formally joins the resistance.

• amadeu do prado
• salazar
• resistance
• dictatorship
• redemption

Estefânia was a young woman who aided the resistance movement and became romantically involved with both Amadeu and his friend João during the revolutionary period. Amadeu helped her escape to safety in Spain when the political situation became dangerous. When Raimund tracks down the older Estefânia, she reveals the significance of her past romance with Amadeu, showing how their relationship deeply affected both men.

Foreshadowing: The rivalry between Amadeu and João over Estefânia is hinted at during the resistance flashbacks, creating tension among the friends.

• estefânia
• amadeu do prado
• joão eça
• resistance
• romance

Raimund leaves Switzerland because the encounter with the woman in the red coat disrupts his stagnant, solitary life. At 57, he's living a quiet existence as a Latin professor with no family or close connections. The mystery of the woman and the book provides an escape from his predictable routine, and as he delves deeper into Amadeu's story, he finds meaning and purpose he's been missing.

Foreshadowing: Raimund's abrupt decision to board a train with only minutes to spare reveals his subconscious desire to escape his monotonous life.

• raimund gregorius
• switzerland
• life change
• midlife crisis
• personal transformation

The ending suggests Raimund is at a crossroads. Mariana encourages him to consider staying in Lisbon when she meets him at the train station before his planned return to teaching. This hint at new beginnings, combined with his transformed perspective after uncovering Amadeu's story, suggests he may choose to remain for a potential romance with Mariana rather than return to his old life.

Foreshadowing: Mariana's suggestion that Raimund consider staying, paired with his meaningful connection with her earlier at the optician's shop, foreshadows this potential new chapter.

• raimund
• mariana
• lisbon
• ending
• new beginning
• romance

Amadeu's father is a respected judge who supports the Salazar dictatorship. When Amadeu delivers a graduation speech openly criticizing the regime, his father sees it as a betrayal of their family name and social standing. The father's rigid adherence to the dictatorship's values makes him view his son's defiance as a personal and political affront that threatens their family's reputation.

Foreshadowing: This father-son conflict establishes the moral divide that drives Amadeu toward the resistance.

• amadeu father
• judge
• salazar
• graduation speech
• family conflict

Raimund meets Mariana when he's accidentally struck by a bicycle while walking through Lisbon, damaging his glasses. At the optician's shop to get repairs, he meets Mariana who becomes intrigued by his story about searching for Amadeu do Prado. She then connects him with her uncle João Eça, who knew Amadeu personally during the resistance years.

Foreshadowing: This accidental encounter is no coincidence, it literally brings Raimund into the circle of people connected to Amadeu's past.

• mariana
• raimund
• optician
• joão eça
• lisbon meeting