Step away from the multiplex and get down to your local indie cinema, for our pick of the films opening today is Mysteries of Lisbon – the 19th century period drama set in Portugal.

Period pieces are a dime a dozen, but from the glowing reviews this film appears to have more to offer than just flowing skirts, splendiferous wigs, outrageous hats and men in tight-fitting pants. Grand in scale and in length (yes, it’s over four hours long) this film is “storytelling of breathtaking scale and grandeur, even if the complex plotting may twist your synapses along the way” (Empire Magazine).

Heck, what else are you going to watch? Titanic 3D? American Pie: Reunion?

Check out the trailer:

Young orphan boy Pedro da Silva, the illegitimate child of an ill-fated romance between two aristocrats, is told the story of his past by kindly padre Father Dinis – a tale of forbidden love, war, pirates, treachery and adultery.

Directed by Raoul Ruiz, Mysteries of Lisbon stars Adriano Luz, Maria Joao Bastos and Ricardo Pereira.