The lives of a great artist, a corrupted holy man, and a beautiful woman cross paths at a crucial moment in history in this epic-scale historical drama from director Milos Forman. Near the end of the 18th century, Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgård) is a gifted but controversial artist whose provocative and often satirical work has earned the enmity of the Spanish government as well as the Catholic Church, who hold tremendous power as the Inquisition rages. 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 (Michel Lonsdale) he's not in cahoots with the renegade artist, Lorenzo targets Inés (Natalie Portman), one of Goya's favorite models, as a possible heretic. Under torture from Lorenzo, Inés signs a false confession, and her wealthy and powerful father, Tomás Bilbatúa (José Luis Gómez), 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 María Luisa (Blanca Portillo) under commission from her husband, King Carlos IV (Randy Quaid), but Inés remains in prison thanks to her coerced confession. Fifteen 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 Inés from prison, but a shocking discovery awaits him. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
A modern sensibility afflicts much of the screenplay, with characters expressing thoughts and opinions for our ears rather than acting as people of that era.
Portman is disappeared, stripped, chained and tortured, raped repeatedly in the Church dungeon and impregnated by the creepy cleric as he forces her to pray nude. Did I mention that the shackled hottie falls in love with him? Move over, Black Snake Moan.
Goya gets lost as the filmmakers turn Spanish history into a chronicle of easy contemporary targets. They don't just hit the social-political bull's-eye -- they obliterate it with a cannon and inadvertently scorch the dramatic landscape all around it.
Film about the life of famed Spanish artist Francisco Goya, Goya's Ghost is a sweeping drama directed by masterful director Milos Forman. I feel that this is a phenomenal period piece. Goya's Ghost has a phenomenal cast and is one impressive historical drama. Not since Forman's film Amadeus has a film of this caliber
looked this impressive. Goya's Ghost is set during the Spanish inquisition and shows the harsh period for what it is. Forman's film paints an impressive picture of a gifted artist. The cast that Milos Forman assembles here is an in impressive bunch of talented individuals. They truly bring this film up a notch. Goya's Ghosts is not a perfect film, but there's a lot to appreciate from this film. The story is well crafted, engaging and above all, entertaining. However, there were a few moments that just didn't cut it. For example Natalie Portman at times was overdoing her role, and she turned a rather great performance into a good one. Stellan Skaarsgard is of course, the best role here as Francisco Goya. He truly brought something unique to the screen. This is a near flawless picture that has wonderful performances and a very engaging story. A truly well made film that is almost perfect, Goya's Ghosts brings back elements of Forman previous period piece Amadeus, only this around he focuses on a unique painter.
August 8, 2011
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski
Super Reviewer
Master Spanish painter Francisco de Goya is confined here to be a mere middle man, a MacGuffin in a tasteless soap opera set in the midst of two centuries.Milos Forman is a good director, but neither he nor his co-writer, the famous Buñuel collaborator Jean-Claude Carrière could follow a truly significant period of
Goya's life. It pretends to cover a big span of time, but falls short.
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