Goya's Ghosts
by Milos Forman
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Javier Bardem, Jos Luis Gmez, Natalie Portman, Randy Quaid, Stellan SkarsgrdDirector: Milos Forman
Brand: Sony
Writer: Milos Forman
Writer: Jean-Claude Carrire
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 113 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-02-26
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Goya's Ghosts
Movie Review: H O R R I F Y I N G......B U T....A M A Z I N G....A N D....E D U C A T I O N A L...
Summary: 5 Stars
I M P O R T A N T.....P..S...
I'm putting this "PS" at the beginning of my review, and not at the end of it, because this IS so important. PLEASE read this PS, and, if you so desire, tell other people its message....
As this movie deals with the Spanish Inquistion, and brings up religious discusssions in general, I'd like to mention a recent religius discusssion I had, quite unexpectedly, with a new, Moslem neighbour of mine. I generally like my privacy, and don't discuss much, (and try to be seen little), with my neighbours. They're nice people -- it's just that I like my privacy. However, I was waiting by the elevator, near the front door, of our building, to reject a package I had mistakenly ordered, so meeting with negibours was unavoidable. I got into a conversation with this nice guy, eventually mentioning to him my own theory that I've had for a while, that God made up all these different religions to see how and if we all got along together. This nice guy, a Moslem, informed me that THIS IDEA THAT I THOUGHT I HAD MADE UP BY MYSELF, WAS ACTUALLY IN THE KORAN! I said, "You're kidding!" He smiled and said, "No--it's in there!" Well, I guess I DID make it up, because before last week, I never knew it WAS in the Koran. And, if it IS in the Koran.... Isn't it then a sin for those believing in Islam to go on a "Jihad", and try to make everyone a Moslem? I mean, it's in the Koran not only that God created all these religions, but also WHY He did! Converting Everyone to Islam would distroy this purpose, wouldn't it? If you have a mind to, please feel free to postulate this theory with any Moslem person you may meet! Permission is here totally granted! I know I will discuss this with my nice Moslem neighbour, if and when I ever bump into him again. I don't know what he thinks of this, but I do know this. When I said I have nothing against "fundamentalists", that Jimmy Carter is a "fundamentalist", believing in his own religion, but also respecting and honouring other traditions, and that the people I dislike are not "fundamentalists", but FANATICS, my neighbour smiled in agreement! Hopefully, other people of many faiths think the same way. If this is true....maybe people HAVE come a long way from the Spanish Inquistion, after all. That is, at least SOME people have....(shudder!)
M A I N.....R E V I E W..:
This is a cohesive, immensely followable film, that holds one's interest from beginning to end. Although a work of fiction, this film -- as historical fiction -- still needed to be grounded on historical FACT to be credible. What was INcredible to me was that the Inquisition, (started in 1492 by Ferdinand and Isabella -- yes, THAT Ferdinand and Isabella, who gave Columbus the money he needed to explore the Indies...and resulted instead in the discovery of the Americas -- the New World), was still around in 1792, when the story begins!
In the story, INES, (portrayed by NATALIE PORTMAN, who from the first scene onward, shows herself to be versatile in many different situations, and is here quite different from her most famous role, that of Queen Amidala in the "Star Wars" series.) Here, Ines is a beautiful young lady and daughter of a rich merchant. She is intelligent, but her station in life has obviously kept her from experiencing any of the darker things life can hold. She is happy in the home of an obviously loving mother and father, and brothers. Inez is posing to give inspiration, to Francisco Goya, the famous Spanish painter, and a family friend. Later, Ines accompanies her brothers to a local tavern, and, with them, enjoys the atmosphere, as well as food and drink.
The next day, Ines is summoned by the Inquisition! She and her parents, and her two brothers. and even their servants, are all terrified. They all know what the Inquisition could do...and besides, whatever could she have done that was wrong?
When she goes to the Inquistion,they ask her her name, and what she did the day before. Yes, she went the tavern. Yes, she ate chicken and vegetables there. No, she did not eat any of the pork that was offered her -- because, as she innoently remarks, she just doesn't like the TASTE of pork.
But the Inquisition sees thing sifferently. Her not eating pork, signifies to them, that she has secretly been practicing Judaism! (To the modern mind, this is akin to accusing someone of being a communist, because they like wearing the colour red -- but the Inquisition, (and perhaps Joe McCarthy, too), were in dead earnest.
Complicating this is the fact that is broght up later, when a friar, comes to dinner. He reveals a fact known to the Inquisition, and to Inez father -- but to no one else. And that is that the family CONVERTED from Judaism to Catholicism about 125 years earlier, when immigrating from Holland. Heavens -- was Inez backsliding?
(( Poor Ines! She obviously did NOT want re-convert to the Judaism her family had left behind a century and a quarter before. I don't even think she even knew that pork is forbidden to Jews. If she HAD known about Jewish Law, she would have been able to tell the Inquisition that Jewish Law says that the MOST imporant thing to do is STAY ALIVE, no matter what you must eat. If kosher food is not available, you MUST eat the non-kosher meat, stay alive, and help the continuity of the Jewish people. Therefore, if she DID want to covert to Judaism, she WOULD have eaten the pork, just to put on a show for those who might be watching. Some Jews did just this -- pretend to be Catholic in public, and only secretly practiced Judaism. These were called "Marranos". Some Jews, of course, did not even want to pretend to be non-Jews, and never converted, even publicly. They -- along with others who commited ANYTHING considered an abberation by the Inquisition -- being a Protestant, a Free-Thinker, a believer in abortion, etc -- were called "Heretics". But the fact that she DIDN'T eat the pork shows Ines WAS telling the truth -- she just didn't like the taste! Of course, then the Inquisition would have asked her how she knew about this -- and tortured her anyway.
At any rate, Francisco Goya tells a friend of his, a prelate, about the problem, and asks him to try to intercede with the Church and bring Ines home. The priest visits Ines in the dungeons of the Inquisition, and promises to bring home her message to her family that she loves them all. At Ines' family's home, the priest explains that, since torture has already made Ines confess, he can do nothing. Her father, however, has other plans. He draws up a "confession" paper, wherein he asks the priest to sign, and reveal the "terrible secret" of the priest's past: that he, the priest, though masquerading as a human being, is actually the illegitmate son of a chimpanze and an orangatan! The priest says he will never sign such a ridiculus document -- but, under the mildest of tortures, finally does. Thus, he learns that the Inquistion's doctrine -- that an innocent person will never confess, no matter how awful the torture, (because God will give the innocent the strength to endure) -- is false. But he cannot convince his superiours of his. Ines stays in the dungeons. And -- worse than this -- when the priest takes this message to Ines, he, struck by her beauty, does an entirely UN-priestly action.....(XXX)
The story continues 15 years later. Ines is still in prison. Francisco Goya has gone deaf, and the priest has left his order, and is now a fugitive from the Inquision. By this time, NAPOLEON has arrived in Spain! The year is 1813, and it is only now that
the victorious Napoleon abolishes the Inquistion, and frees the remaining prisoners of the Inquistion. The Spanish Inquisition thus lasted for the astounding time-period of THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY- ONE YEARS! Although Ines and her family may be fictious characters, THIS historic timeline is all too sadly true.....
Ines has had a daughter by the priest, and the film now shifts to Goya's efforts to bring mother and daughter together. The priest re-enters the story, and .....well, it continues to show what happens to these involving, 3-D characters.
This movie holds the attention from beginning to end. The story is riviting, the acting involving, the scenery and costumes realistically magnificent, and magnificiently chilling. The music is almost too atmospheric -- it is tuneful and evocative of every mood in the movie.....
In the end, this is a story of how fanaticism can ruin lives. One hope this sort of thing never happens again.... Although, with
both Moslem, Christian, (AND "One World Order") fanatics, very much alive, well, and all-too-active....as well as even Jewish groups urging Jews to be more religious, (and even seeking out converts among non-Jewish people!), the rational, realistic person still must sadly realize that fanaticism is still all-too-much around, in the hearts and minds of far too many people, even today. GOYA'S GHOSTS, therefore, is a movie that deserves a far wider viewing audience. Hopefully, upon watching it, many people will reach the same conclusion I have: Believe what you want, to make you happy. But be sure to RESPECT other people and other beliefs. If one believes that God is Love, there can be no other way to direct one's thoughts!
Summary of Goya's Ghosts
Academy Award® nominees Natalie Portman and Javier Bardem star in two-time Academy Award® winning director Milos Forman's thrilling new romantic drama! Goya's Ghosts is a sweeping historical epic, told through the eyes of celebrated Spanish painter Francisco Goya (Skarsgard). Set against the backdrop of political turmoil at the end of the Spanish Inquisition and start of the invasion of Spain by Napoleon's army, the film captures the essence and beauty of Goya's work which is best known for both the colorful depictions of the royal court and its people, and his grim depictions of the brutality of war and life in 18th century Spain. When Goya's beautiful muse (Portman) is accused of being a heretic, renowned painter Francisco Goya (Skarsgard) must convince his old friend Lorenzo (Bardem), a power-hungry monk and leader of the Spanish Inquisition, to spare her life.Even Milos Forman's most ardent supporters are sure to have mixed feelings about Goya's Ghosts. As expected from the Oscar-winning director of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, the production values are strong and the performances solid. Unfortunately, his fictional take on the life of subversive painter Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgård), circa the Spanish Inquisition, feels undercooked compared to previous issue-driven works, like The People vs. Larry Flynt. As in that film, censorship and hypocrisy take center stage. Co-written by Luis Buñuel scenarist Jean-Claude Carrière (That Obscure Object of Desire), Goya's Ghosts concerns the painter's relationships with two subjects, Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem) and artist?s model Ines (Natalie Portman). When Ines is suspected of practicing Judaism, she's tortured until she confesses, leading to her incarceration. With Goya's assistance, her family enlists Lorenzo to fight for her freedom, but to no avail. For his own transgressions, Lorenzo flees the country, while Ines lingers in prison. The story then skips ahead 15 years. Goya has since lost his hearing, Ines remains imprisoned, and a defrocked Lorenzo is living a life of leisure in France. After Napoleon invades Spain, the three are once again thrown into each other's orbit. Of the trio, Goya emerges as decency incarnate, Ines as a victim of religious fundamentalism, and Lorenzo as a man who found his conscience far too late to save anyone--least of all himself. The humor that bouyed Amadeus might not have been appropriate in this case, but Goya's Ghosts is a real downer. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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