Goya's Ghosts
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Movie Reviews of Goya's Ghosts
Movie Review: MILOS FORMAN, OPUS 12
Summary: 4 Stars
**** 2006. Written and directed by Milos Forman. The 1792-1812 period in Spain seen through the eyes of painter Francisco Goya. Don't expect here a biography of Goya, Milos Forman is only trying to demonstrate that the role of the artist can be but passive in history. In this perspective, GOYA'S GHOSTS is a very pessimistic film because we never have the feeling that Goya's interventions in order to save In?s may help the young woman. The production is gorgeous and the actors top-notch. Highly recommended. Movie Review: Hints of greatness, which ultimately disappoint
Summary: 3 Stars
SPOILER WARNING (Do not read the last paragraph if you have not seen this movie or do not want to know what happens)
Goya's Ghosts came highly recommended to me, and given Javier's fabulous performance in No Country For Old Men, I was sold. I bought it and eagerly popped it in. Unfortunately, I just couldn't buy the hype. Bardem is great, of course. This is just the type of devious role that he really breathes life into. Nearly every other actor, however, brings the film down. Natalie Portman, to start, is kind of a mixed bag. She plays a rather unremarkable young woman, who of course is Goya's heaven-sent muse. After being locked in a dungeon for years, she goes a little crazy and pasty, and this brings her overall performance in the film to a solid B as she imitates a broken jaw and a handful of psychoses. Then, she plays the DAUGHTER of her character, while they both are still alive, and goes back to plain old bland. I do wonder, however, if she has some kind of fetish for playing weird roles where they deform her (queen Amidala, V for Vendetta, perhaps others I can't remember...)
Also Randy Quaid plays the King of Spain. He has a wonderful air of regality. No, not really. This is the guy who played the dad in Independence Day and Cousin Ed in the National Lampoon Vacation movies. He hasn't got a regal bone in his body, and he's nearly the WORST actor I could think of for a dramatic role (except for maybe... Natalie Portman?)
Aside from this, the movie is just a little too wide in scope to be seen as an insular, complete story. It covers about 30 years and three generations in two hours, and kind of leaves each epoch a mess, with little or no sense of resolution. At the end of the film, Bardem's character is killed by the church for his rebellion and carted off through the streets of Spain while kids chase it, and a song that means roughly "oh, what a bad world, where a man hurts so bad he wants to kill himself" in Spanish plays. At that point, you realize that all the other stuff was just window-dressing and pretension of drama, while it was really an Inquisition-era No Country For Old Men, a film to give Javier Bardem a role that steals the show with little other reason for watching. The only other plus of this movie, beyond his acting, is the beautiful Spanish scenery and location design which simply cannot be beaten. Too bad, then, that most of the cast is less interesting than the backdrop.
Movie Review: Compellingly unhappy.
Summary: 5 Stars
Goya's Ghosts is the kind of film that I usually find depressing. I did not actually find this uplifting, but the movie itself makes a number of excellent points without being heavy handed. The Spanish Inquisition is portrayed here in all its horrific idiocy, but this is more than a cautionary "Don't let this happen again" tale. It is also less a biography or true history. It instead weaves a tapestry of images that give a feeling of Spain in the late 1700's. There are many moving moments contained here and not many are joyful. There are some images and sequences that are not for the faint hearted. Natalie Portman is very good throughout, though not always as convincing visually near the end. Stellan Skarsgard is marvelous throughout. I must say that I did enjoy this movie, but it is not happy. The end scene is very sad and yet a perfect conclusion to this story. I recommend it, but again remind you this is not a "date" film. Unless you are on a very strange date.Movie Review: Captivating tale
Summary: 5 Stars
Centered on the horrid Spanish Inquisition, this story explores the sins of those in power, committed in the name of God. An arrogant priest, Lorenzo played by the talented Javier Bardem, believes torture is the key to bringing society closer to morality. Lorenzo's artist friend, Goya, begs for the priest's help when one of his young models, Inez, is falsely accused and imprisoned for heresy. Lorenzo is not only unable to free the young girl, but impregnates her while she's confined in her cell. Inez is tortured until she confesses to a sin she is not guilty of. When Lorenzo gets put to the 'torture test' himself by the young girl's father, and fails, he must leave town. When Lorenzo returns he causes even more trouble for Inez. This is an intense drama that gives us a small glimpse into a tumultous time in history. Superb acting!
Chrissy K. McVay - Author
Movie Review: Too depressing and upsetting to watch again
Summary: 3 Stars
The film is more about the horrors of the Catholic Church and the evil and insanity perpetuated by the Inquisition than it is about Goya himself. Imagine, being tortured because one refused to eat pork which supposedly meant that one was a secret Jew. Did the church really do this to people based on such common and trivial incidents? Also, so what if one was a Jew?! Didn't the populace or the supposedly intellegentsia of the day have any common sense back then? If this is a factual true story, then it requires its factual ending, as terrible as it is. But if it's all made-up, pure fantasy, then I feel that horrors were suffered for nothing. If anyone cares, I'm a non-practicing Catholic. I'm proud that the church financed great art and beautiful architecture but am truly ashamed of other aspects of its history.