Painter Francisco Goya faces a scandal involving his muse, who is labeled a heretic by a monk.
Award winning director Milos Foreman's ('One Flew Over The Cuckoo"s Nest', 'Amadeus') lavish and intentionally chaotic period drama, sees legendary Spanish artist Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgard) embroiled in a series of historical events when The Inquisition charges his muse (Natalie Portman) with "heresy". 'Goya's Ghosts' is an ambitious, original and sometimes visually spectacular picture, though anyone expecting a straightforward biopic of the great painter will be disappointed, for its hardly about Goya at all. And whilst Stellan Skarsgard puts in a fine performance as the master neo-realist, he's more the thread that binds this film together; for its actually about the redemption of sadistic Spanish inquisitor Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem), Bardem gives another excellent performance (great voice work) though he tends to overdo the old 'acting with a mouthful of marbles' routine. Portman is engaging as usual, and though some of her scenes veer off into melodrama, she elicits a great deal of sympathy for the Marrano's plight. Javier Aguirresarobe's aesthetically pleasing, occasionally surrealist, cinematography is similar in style to Frank Griebe's work on 'Perfume: Story Of A Murderer', Aguirresarobe is one of Spain's finest D.O.P.s and has the ability to create a memorable stylistic ambience, particularly in Pedro Almodovar's 'Talk To Her' & Alejandro Amenábar's 'The Others'. A movie that attempts to encompass such a wide range of themes / ideas is bound to falter every now and then; for some of Foreman's directorial choices (a double role in particular) seem rushed and unintentionally funny, whilst the wider historical context is lost in favour of dramatic irony. A prime example is Goya's disillusionment with Napoleonic occupation, eloquently summarised in both his famous painting 'The Third of May, 1808' and in a few lines from his diary: "I witnessed how the noblest ideals of freedom and progress were transformed into lances, sabres and bayonets. Arson, looting and rape, all supposed to bring a New Order, in reality only exchanged the garrotte for the gallows". It's a shame then that 'Goya's Ghosts' doesn't quite convey the weight and simplicity of the aforementioned paragraph on film, but instead, opts for a Terrence Malik-esque, elliptical narrative structure. A good film, flawed in places, but worthy of a Renaissance.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. It is 1782 in Spain and through the eyes of the great Spanish painter Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgard) unfolds the story of a group of people caught up in the brutal later years of the Spanish Inquisition, the invasion of Spain by Napoleon's army and the restoration of the Spanish monarchy by Wellington's powerful invading army. Javier Bardem is Brother Lorenzo, an enigmatic, cunning member of the inquisition's inner circle who becomes involved with Goya's teenage muse, Ines (Natalie Portman), when she is falsely accused of heresy, sent to prison and the horrors begin.
Epic historical drama from director Milos Forman. Near the end of the 16th Century, Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgard) is a gifted but controversial artist whose work has earned the enmity of the Spanish government as well as the Catholic Church. Surprisingly, Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem), a monk involved in the Inquisition, has hired Goya to paint a portrait of himself, and to prove to the Inquisitor General (Michael Lonsdale) he's not in cahoots with the renegade artist, Lorenzo targets Ines (Natalie Portman), one of Goya's favorite models, as a possible heretic. Under torture from Lorenzo, Ines signs a false confession, and her wealthy and powerful father, Tomas Bilbatua (Jose Luis Gomeza), offers Lorenzo a taste of his own medicine by brow-beating him into signing a document confessing that his mother was an ape. Lorenzo flees Spain as his reputation lies in tatters, and Goya earns greater infamy as he paints a wildly unflattering portrait of Queen Maria Luisa (Blanca Portillo) under commission from her husband, King Carlos IV (Randy Quaid), but Ines remains in prison thanks to her coerced confession. 15 years later, Lorenzo has become a follower of the Enlightenment, and returns to Spain as Napoleon's forces storm the nation and the Inquisition finally collapses. Lorenzo attempts to liberate Ines from prison, but a shocking discovery awaits him.
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