Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Goya's Ghost
Natalie Portman
4/5


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.

The movie sounds like it's a biography about the painter Goyah, but it really isn't.....he's in it of course, and the main characters are based around his artworks........but his life is really just a backdrop for the real story which is about reaping what you you sew...........and the consequences of what PAST mistakes can do to you.
We go from seeing just how fucked up the church was back in "the day", to seeing peoples lives completely go by as the world around them changes and lies and secrets are kept buried.............or so they think. Everything comes to a complete circle by the end of it, which was good to see........though i must admit, the ending was a little uh.....random in parts..............i couldn't help but giggle when a certain character is executed and the crowd slowly flock to the stage to waltz in celebration, LMFAO!!!!!! freaky times, freaky times...

The stand out in this was Natalie Portman [no surprises there], she takes on two characters here and does it effortlessly, she is definitely one of Hollywood's best young actress's and one of my favourites. Beautiful too, especially in her part as Alicia.

The editing and cinematography were lovely, it's kinda hard to shoot movies in Spain without it looking nice though.......especially when it's a period piece.

A bit of an abrupt random ending, but overall a very solid movie, well worth the watch.


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