In the face of fate, a difficult situation, a heavy blow, a lack of identity, or an identity at the mercy of revelations coming to light at fatalistic moments... the characters of Mysteries of Lisbon constantly seek to assert themselves, reinvent themselves, forge an identity. Padre Denis's father goes to priesthood after his loved one dies in childbirth. She had gone on the run with him in light of being an uncared-for wife. Padre Denis, being a bastard child, assumes a number of personas through the years. Joao, similarly, seeks an identity, at first by looking for his parents, then as a young adult by declaring himself the protector of the girl he falls in love with. The latter declares that sad events in her past have made her the nasty person that she is (which Joao, in his crush, cannot see). Joao's mother Angela goes from an unhappy marriage... to her son but in poverty... to the convent. Knife-Eater goes from a man with a heavy conscience to a noble nouveau-riche.
In the end, Joao, confused by being a pawn in fate's and other people's dictates tries to leave without a trace, to either check out of life in a way or to reinvent himself somewhere far away. But his benefactors know how to find him. And he cannot turn his back on the past completely; he writes his story, not forgetting where he comes from. A fitting conclusion to a film also in part about storytelling. After hours of listening to people telling their stories, he finally decides to tell his.
In the end, Joao, confused by being a pawn in fate's and other people's dictates tries to leave without a trace, to either check out of life in a way or to reinvent himself somewhere far away. But his benefactors know how to find him. And he cannot turn his back on the past completely; he writes his story, not forgetting where he comes from. A fitting conclusion to a film also in part about storytelling. After hours of listening to people telling their stories, he finally decides to tell his.