Triumph of Love (2002)
Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins
Theatrical Release: Apr 17, 2002 Limited
Box Office: $345,851
Synopsis: Mira Sorvino plays a cross-dressing princess who falls madly in love with a young, inexperienced scholar in this adaptation of the 18th Century Marivaux play. His rationalist philosopher guardian Hemocrates (Ben Kingsley) has raised handsome Agis (Jay Rodan) to hate women, so the... Mira Sorvino plays a cross-dressing princess who falls madly in love with a young, inexperienced scholar in this adaptation of the 18th Century Marivaux play. His rationalist philosopher guardian Hemocrates (Ben Kingsley) has raised handsome Agis (Jay Rodan) to hate women, so the princess disguises herself as a man and crashes their secluded villa. What follows is an all out assault of seduction, as she finds herself wooing both Hemocrates and his spinster sister Leontine (Fiona Shaw) in effort to pursue her true quarry Agis, who is also the true heir to her throne. Sorvino is wonderful in the lead, changing genders and suitors with the agility of a classic screwball heroine while still conveying sensitivity and warmth. Shaw and Kingsley shine as the stodgy siblings who find their lives upheaved by her fervent wooing. Unusual touches, like "fourth wall" glimpses of an audience, jump cut editing, and electric guitar (courtesy of Pink Floyd's David Gilmour), ensure the material transcends its art house-period piece roots. Director Clare Peploe adapted the script with her husband, Bernardo Bertolucci (LAST TANGO IN PARIS, STEALING BEAUTY), who also produced. It was filmed in Tuscany. [More]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: Mira Sorvino, Jay Rodan, Ben Kingsley, Fiona Shaw, Rachael Stirling
Screenwriter: Clare Peploe, Marilyn Goldin, Bernardo Bertolucci
Composer: Jason Osborn
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Reviews
I was periodically put off by a certain self-consciousness of delivery.
The characters jabber away, the premise becomes ever more improbable, and you may well find yourself drifting to sleep.
This gender-bending romp is enjoyably witty, even if it feels rather long and pointless.
It is the audience who will feel duped even more than the characters in the film.
Failed experiments are in general very educational, but that doesn’t mean that you have to see it.
Sorvino, Stirling and Rodan are fine as the youth contingent, but the film belongs to Kingsley and Shaw.
...the close-to-two-hour running time stretches this decidedly thin premise much further than it has any right to.
The Triumph of Love is, indeed, a triumph of love: love of performance, love of joy, and, above all else, love of love itself.
A frivolous flutter through the art of seduction, Triumph of Love is a visually sumptuous costumer set in exquisite gardens and villas in Tuscany. Worth seeing for its gorgeous setting alone, this lively farce about politics, position and passion allows
...unspeakably, unbearably dull, featuring reams of flatly delivered dialogue and a heroine who comes across as both shallow and dim-witted.
A boring masquerade ball where normally good actors, even Kingsley, are made to look bad.
For this sort of thing to work, we need agile performers, but the proficient, dull Sorvino has no light touch, and Rodan is out of his league.
The characters in Triumph of Love are trifles, so that the farcical situation, which depends on the audience buying quick changes of heart -- like falling in love in an instant -- has no resonance.
Clare Peploe's airless movie adaptation could use a little American Pie-like irreverence.
Sorvino is delightful in the central role. She nearly glows with enthusiasm, sensuality and a conniving wit.


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