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Triumph of Love (2002)
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Reviews Counted:70
Fresh:33
Rotten:37
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: Not as charming as it could have been, Triumph of Love plays too broadly and amounts to little more than a trifle.
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... 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]
Starring: Mira Sorvino, Jay Rodan, Ben Kingsley, Fiona Shaw
Starring: Mira Sorvino, Jay Rodan, Ben Kingsley, Fiona Shaw, Rachael Stirling
Director: Clare Peploe
Director: Clare Peploe
Screenwriter: Clare Peploe, Marilyn Goldin, Bernardo Bertolucci
Composer: Jason Osborn
Studio: Paramount Classics
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Reviews for Triumph of Love
Has lost some of the dramatic conviction that underlies the best of comedies...
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.
A boring masquerade ball where normally good actors, even Kingsley, are made to look bad.
In short, a film dependent on deception relies on the Clark Kent school of disguise, and it doesn't work.
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 jabber away, the premise becomes ever more improbable, and you may well find yourself drifting to sleep.
...the close-to-two-hour running time stretches this decidedly thin premise much further than it has any right to.
Failed experiments are in general very educational, but that doesn’t mean that you have to see it.
Mostly frenzied and unconscionably broad...like watching a man try to dance a minuet in cement shoes.
Intentionally choppy editing that calls undue attention to the cinematic form.
Proves a lovely trifle that, unfortunately, is a little too in love with its own cuteness.
Viewed as a comedy, a romance, a fairy tale, or a drama, there's nothing remotely triumphant about this motion picture.
De-lovely to look at, deliciously cast, but something less than delightful.
I can't remember the last time I saw a movie where I wanted so badly for the protagonist to fail.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
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