Year 2011 Theatrical Release 2011-08-05 Video Release 2012-01-17 Studio Music Box Films Genre Drama MPAA Rating Not Rated Color Color Runtime 257 Animated Live-Action Full Synopsis Raul Ruiz's masterful adaptation of the eponymous nineteenth-century Portuguese novel by Camilo Castelo Branco evokes the complex intertwined narratives of Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens. The core story centers on Joao, the bastard child of an ill-fated romance between two members of the aristocracy who are forbidden to marry, and his quest to discover the truth of his parentage. But this is just the start of an engrossing tale that follows a multitude of characters whose fates conjoin, separate and then rejoin again over three decades in Portugal, Spain, France and Italy. Director Raul Ruiz Cast Raul Ruiz; Adriano Luz; Maria Joao Bastos; Ricardo Pereira; Jose Afonso Pimentel