Today, Prime Video released the official trailer for the highly anticipated Spanish Original sci-fi film ‘Awareness’ directed by Daniel Benmayor and starring Carlos Scholz, Pedro Alonso, María Pedraza, Óscar Jaenada and Lela Loren.
Awareness will be screened during the Sitges Film Festival and will premiere on October 11 exclusively on Prime Video
Ian, a rebellious teenager living on the outskirts of society, can manipulate minds with his ability to generate visual illusions. He uses this power to survive running small, indiscreet, scams. When one of his cons goes awry, his abilities publicly spiral out of control and Ian becomes the target of two rival organizations, each seeking to exploit his powers.
Awareness is produced by Federation Spain, led by Juan Solá and Nacho Manubens, with Mark Albela as executive producer and Dbenma Content with Daniel Benmayor as producer and director. Benmayor is also in charge of the script alongside Iván Ledesma.
Awareness will be screened during the Sitges Film Festival and will premiere on October 11 exclusively on Prime Video
Ian, a rebellious teenager living on the outskirts of society, can manipulate minds with his ability to generate visual illusions. He uses this power to survive running small, indiscreet, scams. When one of his cons goes awry, his abilities publicly spiral out of control and Ian becomes the target of two rival organizations, each seeking to exploit his powers.
Awareness is produced by Federation Spain, led by Juan Solá and Nacho Manubens, with Mark Albela as executive producer and Dbenma Content with Daniel Benmayor as producer and director. Benmayor is also in charge of the script alongside Iván Ledesma.
- 9/21/2023
- by Nitin Sethi
Today, Prime Video released the official trailer for the highly anticipated Spanish Original sci-fi film ‘Awareness’ directed by Daniel Benmayor and starring Carlos Scholz, Pedro Alonso, María Pedraza, Óscar Jaenada and Lela Loren.
Awareness will be screened during the Sitges Film Festival and will premiere on October 11 exclusively on Prime Video
Ian, a rebellious teenager living on the outskirts of society, can manipulate minds with his ability to generate visual illusions. He uses this power to survive running small, indiscreet, scams. When one of his cons goes awry, his abilities publicly spiral out of control and Ian becomes the target of two rival organizations, each seeking to exploit his powers.
Awareness is produced by Federation Spain, led by Juan Solá and Nacho Manubens, with Mark Albela as executive producer and Dbenma Content with Daniel Benmayor as producer and director. Benmayor is also in charge of the script alongside Iván Ledesma.
Awareness will be screened during the Sitges Film Festival and will premiere on October 11 exclusively on Prime Video
Ian, a rebellious teenager living on the outskirts of society, can manipulate minds with his ability to generate visual illusions. He uses this power to survive running small, indiscreet, scams. When one of his cons goes awry, his abilities publicly spiral out of control and Ian becomes the target of two rival organizations, each seeking to exploit his powers.
Awareness is produced by Federation Spain, led by Juan Solá and Nacho Manubens, with Mark Albela as executive producer and Dbenma Content with Daniel Benmayor as producer and director. Benmayor is also in charge of the script alongside Iván Ledesma.
- 9/21/2023
- by Nitin Sethi
- GlamSham
Film Independent is currently in the middle of a Matching Campaign to raise support for the next 30 years of filmmaker support. All donations make before or on September 15 will be doubled—dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000. To celebrate the campaign, we’re re-posting a few of our most popular blogs.
From Olivia Colman’s fraught sojourn to the Greek Isles in The Lost Daughter to Jessie Buckley’s terrifying trip up the M5 to the English countryside in Men and M. Night’s bummer beaches in Old, taking a little “me time” away from home is often the single biggest mistake any movie character could possibly make. Horror, psychological drama, comedy, mystery, rom-com. The genre hardly matters. In film, the simple act of taking a vacation is rarely the relaxing, restorative interlude one hopes that it might be, placing uneasy personalities in uncertain—even harrowing—circumstances.
So with Labor Day weekend upon...
From Olivia Colman’s fraught sojourn to the Greek Isles in The Lost Daughter to Jessie Buckley’s terrifying trip up the M5 to the English countryside in Men and M. Night’s bummer beaches in Old, taking a little “me time” away from home is often the single biggest mistake any movie character could possibly make. Horror, psychological drama, comedy, mystery, rom-com. The genre hardly matters. In film, the simple act of taking a vacation is rarely the relaxing, restorative interlude one hopes that it might be, placing uneasy personalities in uncertain—even harrowing—circumstances.
So with Labor Day weekend upon...
- 9/1/2023
- by Matt Warren
- Film Independent News & More
In yet another sign of explosive growth on Spain’s drama scene, Amazon Prime Video has unveiled four new Amazon Original series or movies tapping the large talents of some of its most successful comedy directors, producers, novelists and drama series creators.
In a sign of Amazon Studios’ hiked ambitions, the productions were described by Georgia Brown, Amazon’s head of European Originals, as “local stories that resonate with local audiences and have a global impact.” In the past, Amazon has stressed more the need for the former.
Also updating Spanish journalists in Madrid on Wednesday morning on progress on the already announced “Sin Huellas” and “Un asunto privado,” Prime Video’s new slate shows it enrolling some of the biggest stars in Spain, led by “Below Zero’s” Javier Gutiérrez and Carmen Machi.
Alongside Sílvia Abril, the two actors topline family time-travel comedy “Mañana es hoy” which is directed...
In a sign of Amazon Studios’ hiked ambitions, the productions were described by Georgia Brown, Amazon’s head of European Originals, as “local stories that resonate with local audiences and have a global impact.” In the past, Amazon has stressed more the need for the former.
Also updating Spanish journalists in Madrid on Wednesday morning on progress on the already announced “Sin Huellas” and “Un asunto privado,” Prime Video’s new slate shows it enrolling some of the biggest stars in Spain, led by “Below Zero’s” Javier Gutiérrez and Carmen Machi.
Alongside Sílvia Abril, the two actors topline family time-travel comedy “Mañana es hoy” which is directed...
- 1/12/2022
- by Jamie Lang and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Federation Entertainment, producer of banner Canal Plus’ series “The Bureau,” Netflix Italian hit “Baby” and Omri Givon’s Keshet success “The Grave,” has teamed with three high-profile Spanish executives to launch Federation Spain.
As when Federation Entertainment, a production-distribution company, bought a majority share in Italy’s Fabula Pictures in 2018, Federation Entertainment will own 51% of Federation Spain, to be run by executives Juan Sola, Toni Sevilla and Nacho Manubens. Federation Entertainment is based in Paris and Los Angeles.
Remaining equity is split between Sola, Jaume Collet-Serra’s producing partner, Sevilla, a former director of fiction at Mediaset España, and Manubens, the former deputy head of fiction at Spanish broadcast network Atresmedia when it produced milestone series ““Gran Hotel,” “Velvet” and “La Casa de Papel.”
Federation Spain has also hired as head of production Mark Albela, a producer on some of the biggest modern-day U.S. shoots in Spain, such as...
As when Federation Entertainment, a production-distribution company, bought a majority share in Italy’s Fabula Pictures in 2018, Federation Entertainment will own 51% of Federation Spain, to be run by executives Juan Sola, Toni Sevilla and Nacho Manubens. Federation Entertainment is based in Paris and Los Angeles.
Remaining equity is split between Sola, Jaume Collet-Serra’s producing partner, Sevilla, a former director of fiction at Mediaset España, and Manubens, the former deputy head of fiction at Spanish broadcast network Atresmedia when it produced milestone series ““Gran Hotel,” “Velvet” and “La Casa de Papel.”
Federation Spain has also hired as head of production Mark Albela, a producer on some of the biggest modern-day U.S. shoots in Spain, such as...
- 7/31/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The Promise, which stars Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac, has been acquired by Open Road Films.
The Promise charts the course of a love triangle during the First World War between a medical student (Isaac), a journalist (Bale) and a worldly Parisian (Charlotte Le Bon).
Hotel Rwanda director Terry George helmed the project, which he co-wrote with Robin Swicord.
Open Road Films plans for an April 28, 2017, wide release for the film, which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival in September.
Eric Esrailian, Mike Medavoy and William Horberg produced the project. Kirk Kerkorian, Ralph Winter, Denise O'Dell, Mark Albela, Anthony Mandekic,...
The Promise charts the course of a love triangle during the First World War between a medical student (Isaac), a journalist (Bale) and a worldly Parisian (Charlotte Le Bon).
Hotel Rwanda director Terry George helmed the project, which he co-wrote with Robin Swicord.
Open Road Films plans for an April 28, 2017, wide release for the film, which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival in September.
Eric Esrailian, Mike Medavoy and William Horberg produced the project. Kirk Kerkorian, Ralph Winter, Denise O'Dell, Mark Albela, Anthony Mandekic,...
- 9/7/2016
- by Rebecca Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Toronto International Film Festival is right around the corner, with new titles being added to their lineup every week. One very special film that was just included under the Galas section is Terry George’s “The Promise,” which will be making its world premiere at the festival.
Starring Oscar Isaac as Michael, a humble Armenian apothecary who leaves his village to study medicine in cosmopolitan Constantinople, the drama follows him during the Armenian genocide. Christian Bale also co-stars as Chris, an American photojournalist who has come to the country to partly cover the geopolitics and is in a relationship with the talented Ana (Charlotte Le Bon), a Paris-educated, Armenian artist. The first images of “The Promise” were revealed by the Tiff website, and you can take a look at them below.
Read More: 2016 Toronto International Film Festival: The Lineup So Far
The real drama in the story begins when...
Starring Oscar Isaac as Michael, a humble Armenian apothecary who leaves his village to study medicine in cosmopolitan Constantinople, the drama follows him during the Armenian genocide. Christian Bale also co-stars as Chris, an American photojournalist who has come to the country to partly cover the geopolitics and is in a relationship with the talented Ana (Charlotte Le Bon), a Paris-educated, Armenian artist. The first images of “The Promise” were revealed by the Tiff website, and you can take a look at them below.
Read More: 2016 Toronto International Film Festival: The Lineup So Far
The real drama in the story begins when...
- 8/16/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Albert Sanchez Pinol's Cold Skin bestseller to be helmed by Xavier Gens of Hitman, Frontiere(s) 28 Weeks Later scripter Jesus Olmo is set to adapt the bestselling psychological thriller for Kanzaman which is set on an Antarctic island. Denise O'Dell and Mark Albela of Kanzaman produce Cold Skin which is apparently budgeted at somewhere in the region of $23 million. Cold Skin tells of the stay of a weather official on a remote island in the south Atlantic which is close to the Antarctic Circle, and was the winner of the Ojo Critico Narrativa prize back in 2002.
- 9/22/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Albert Sanchez Pinol's Cold Skin bestseller to be helmed by Xavier Gens of Hitman, Frontiere(s) 28 Weeks Later scripter Jesus Olmo is set to adapt the bestselling psychological thriller for Kanzaman which is set on an Antarctic island. Denise O'Dell and Mark Albela of Kanzaman produce Cold Skin which is apparently budgeted at somewhere in the region of $23 million. Cold Skin tells of the stay of a weather official on a remote island in the south Atlantic which is close to the Antarctic Circle, and was the winner of the Ojo Critico Narrativa prize back in 2002.
- 9/22/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
On the heels of the announcement he would handle directing chores on .The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,. David Slade is now attached to helm .Cold Skin. for Madrid and Paris-based Kanzaman. Set on an Antarctic island, .Skin. is described as a horror/psychological thriller, and is based on Albert Sanchez.s bestselling Spanish novel. Jesus Olmo (.28 Weeks Later.) has been hired to pen the screen adaptation, according to Variety. The film will be produced by Denise O.Dell and Mark Albela, partners at Kanzaman with 6 Sales handling international rights and the film.s representation at the Cannes market next month. .Cold Skin. is scheduled to start shooting next March with an estimated $25 million budget. Slade broke big with 2006.s .Hard Candy.
- 5/2/2009
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
New York -- The true story of international drug dealer and U.K. spy Howard Marks is aiming to give moviegoers a buzz.
Rhys Ifans, Chloe Sevigny and David Thewlis are in final negotiations to star in "Mr. Nice," writer-director Bernard Rose's adaptation of Marks' 2002 best-selling autobiography.
Ifans will play Britain's one-time most-wanted man, a late-'60s-era Oxford grad and teacher who turned to drug smuggling to impress his future wife Judy (Sevigny). While enlisting the help of an Irish Republican Army boss (Thewlis) for a job, he was recruited by a British intelligence officer for a loose network of informants.
The charming criminal assumed the alias Mr. Nice. After encounters with the Mafia and CIA and nearly 30 tons of pot smuggling, he spent seven years in prison.
U.K.-based Independent is producing the film and repping international sales. CEO Luc Roeg is producing, and execs Michael Robinson...
Rhys Ifans, Chloe Sevigny and David Thewlis are in final negotiations to star in "Mr. Nice," writer-director Bernard Rose's adaptation of Marks' 2002 best-selling autobiography.
Ifans will play Britain's one-time most-wanted man, a late-'60s-era Oxford grad and teacher who turned to drug smuggling to impress his future wife Judy (Sevigny). While enlisting the help of an Irish Republican Army boss (Thewlis) for a job, he was recruited by a British intelligence officer for a loose network of informants.
The charming criminal assumed the alias Mr. Nice. After encounters with the Mafia and CIA and nearly 30 tons of pot smuggling, he spent seven years in prison.
U.K.-based Independent is producing the film and repping international sales. CEO Luc Roeg is producing, and execs Michael Robinson...
- 10/29/2008
- by By Gregg Goldstein
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MADRID -- Spain's Kanzaman Prods. has joined Tom Hanks' Playtone Prods. as co-producer on "My Life in Ruins", written by and starring Nia Vardalos, the Spanish company said Thursday.
The $16 million project, which is in preproduction, will shoot almost entirely at production studio Ciudad de la Luz in the Valencia region, with Kanzaman's Denise O'Dell and Mark Albela as co-producers.
Kanzaman, producer of "Goya's Ghosts" and co-producer of "Kingdom of Heaven", set up an office in Valencia this past spring looking to capitalize on regional funds being offered to productions using La Ciudad de la Luz in the city of Alicante, located on Spain's Mediterranean coast.
"This deal demonstrates that our strategy is working," said Kanzaman chief Denis Pedregosa, who will take an associate producer credit on the film. "This is the reason we set up the new office, and the fact that it's happening just as planned means we're right on track."
The Valencia region allows for an automatic 12% rebate on local spending for pictures shooting at the new facility, with an additional 6% available depending on economic impact.
The $16 million project, which is in preproduction, will shoot almost entirely at production studio Ciudad de la Luz in the Valencia region, with Kanzaman's Denise O'Dell and Mark Albela as co-producers.
Kanzaman, producer of "Goya's Ghosts" and co-producer of "Kingdom of Heaven", set up an office in Valencia this past spring looking to capitalize on regional funds being offered to productions using La Ciudad de la Luz in the city of Alicante, located on Spain's Mediterranean coast.
"This deal demonstrates that our strategy is working," said Kanzaman chief Denis Pedregosa, who will take an associate producer credit on the film. "This is the reason we set up the new office, and the fact that it's happening just as planned means we're right on track."
The Valencia region allows for an automatic 12% rebate on local spending for pictures shooting at the new facility, with an additional 6% available depending on economic impact.
- 8/31/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This review was written for the theatrical release of "Goya's Ghosts.""Goya's Ghosts" is a decidedly odd film coming from such a prestigious group of filmmakers that includes writer-director Milos Forman, renowned screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere and producer Saul Zaentz. Its central figure is the great Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco de Goya, in many ways the world's first modern artist. Yet the film displays only passing interest in his art. Its focus instead is on Spain during the horrific period of the Inquisition and Napoleon's conquest, a subject that has its modern-day parallels, but the film never chooses to make them. Indeed, the story these talented filmmakers tell is a sad, even pathetic tale about tawdry events and cowardly individuals.
The film opened in Europe in November to poor results. Foreign boxoffice stands at $5.9 million, with $2.2 million coming from Spain. "Ghosts" makes its domestic debut Friday, July 20 in select markets before an expansion Aug. 3. While lavishly produced with exquisite period details and battle scenes, the film seems destined to attract a mostly Art House crowd.
Goya (1746-1828) is viewed here -- no doubt with some justification -- as being apolitical, a man interested in his art but not caring who he paints, be it a haughty royal or a Grand Inquisitor. Yet the journalistic and subversive side to his art, especially in his "Caprichos" etchings or painting about Napoleon's invasion of a conservative, priest-ridden Spain, make one wonder if he wasn't a very good actor to maintain such cordial relations with royals and invaders alike while depicting the true horrors of his society.
Goya (Stellan Skarsgard) provides the film's viewpoint since he moves easily between the Royal Palace and streets and taverns of Madrid. The story he bears witness to concerns a young and beautiful daughter (Natalie Portman) of a wealthy Christian merchant, who also is his model. When she is unjustly fingered by the Inquisition for hiding "Jewish practices", she is tortured into a confession that causes the Church to lock her up in a filthy prison to rot.
Her father (Jose Luis Gomez) appeals to Goya to intervene with Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem), a fanatical priest behind the revival of the odious Inquisition. Goya arranges a dinner and the father a sizable bribe, but all the priest manages to do is impregnate the daughter. To demonstrate how easily one can produce "confessions," the father subjects Lorenzo to the same torture as his daughter endured, forcing him to admit to being a monkey. It's difficult to believe, though, that the family would suffer no repercussions for such an outrageous act.
Humiliated and ostracized from the Church, Lorenzo flees Spain only to return 15 years later with Napoleon's army and a portfolio for revenge against the Grand Inquisitor (Michael Lonsdale). He does manage to free his now deranged lover but thoughtlessly consigns her to an asylum. When he finally locates his daughter (Portman in an uncomfortable dual role), he discovers that she has turned to prostitution. His reaction is to arrest and send her to America, where she can't bother him. Only the British invade Spain and the tables turn again.
There is truly no one to like in this film. The ex-priest is a human rights abuser of the first order. Goya is too wishy-washy to stand for anything. One young girl goes insane, while her daughter becomes an unrepentant whore. Royals are out of touch with a world in which priests and soldiers inflict rape, barbarity and death on a terrified populace. The only bright spot is Randy Quaid in a humorous turn as a playful (if not terribly American) King Carlos.
Scenes might suggest some of Goya's more horrific images, but for the most part his art is ignored. His personal life is stripped from him so he may wander through Madrid as our eyes and ears (at least until he become deaf). He always manages to be in the room when great historical news arrives -- the execution of the French king or the landing of British forces in Spain.
The script contains one jarring leap in time, an awkward shift in the narration and much telescoping of events, like the British invasion that seemingly takes place a few weeks after Napoleon's arrival when in fact the French stayed for six years.
In general, the filmmakers failed to make several basic decisions before shooting: What are they trying to say and to whom are they saying it? The good vs. evil is painted too black and white to reveal much about the human character. Indeed, 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.
Below-the-line credits are terrific, which only increases an overwhelming sense of disappointment with the film's failed ambitions.
GOYA'S GHOSTS
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Xuxa presents a Saul Zaentz production
Credits:
Director: Milos Forman
Screenwriters: Milos Forman, Jean-Claude Carriere
Producer: Saul Zaentz
Executive producer: Paul Zaentz
Director of photography: Javier Aguirresarobe
Production designer: Patrizia Von Brandenstein
Music: Varhan Bauer
Co-producers: Mark Albela, Denise O'Dell
Costume designer: Yvonne Blake
Editor: Adam Boome
Cast:
Brother Lorenzo: Javier Bardem
Ines/Alicia: Natalie Portman
Goya: Stellan Skarsgard
King Carlos: Randy Quaid
Grand Inquisitor: Michael Lonsdale
Bilbatua: Jose Luis Gomez
Mabel Isabel Bilbatua: Mabel Rivera
Running time -- 113 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
The film opened in Europe in November to poor results. Foreign boxoffice stands at $5.9 million, with $2.2 million coming from Spain. "Ghosts" makes its domestic debut Friday, July 20 in select markets before an expansion Aug. 3. While lavishly produced with exquisite period details and battle scenes, the film seems destined to attract a mostly Art House crowd.
Goya (1746-1828) is viewed here -- no doubt with some justification -- as being apolitical, a man interested in his art but not caring who he paints, be it a haughty royal or a Grand Inquisitor. Yet the journalistic and subversive side to his art, especially in his "Caprichos" etchings or painting about Napoleon's invasion of a conservative, priest-ridden Spain, make one wonder if he wasn't a very good actor to maintain such cordial relations with royals and invaders alike while depicting the true horrors of his society.
Goya (Stellan Skarsgard) provides the film's viewpoint since he moves easily between the Royal Palace and streets and taverns of Madrid. The story he bears witness to concerns a young and beautiful daughter (Natalie Portman) of a wealthy Christian merchant, who also is his model. When she is unjustly fingered by the Inquisition for hiding "Jewish practices", she is tortured into a confession that causes the Church to lock her up in a filthy prison to rot.
Her father (Jose Luis Gomez) appeals to Goya to intervene with Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem), a fanatical priest behind the revival of the odious Inquisition. Goya arranges a dinner and the father a sizable bribe, but all the priest manages to do is impregnate the daughter. To demonstrate how easily one can produce "confessions," the father subjects Lorenzo to the same torture as his daughter endured, forcing him to admit to being a monkey. It's difficult to believe, though, that the family would suffer no repercussions for such an outrageous act.
Humiliated and ostracized from the Church, Lorenzo flees Spain only to return 15 years later with Napoleon's army and a portfolio for revenge against the Grand Inquisitor (Michael Lonsdale). He does manage to free his now deranged lover but thoughtlessly consigns her to an asylum. When he finally locates his daughter (Portman in an uncomfortable dual role), he discovers that she has turned to prostitution. His reaction is to arrest and send her to America, where she can't bother him. Only the British invade Spain and the tables turn again.
There is truly no one to like in this film. The ex-priest is a human rights abuser of the first order. Goya is too wishy-washy to stand for anything. One young girl goes insane, while her daughter becomes an unrepentant whore. Royals are out of touch with a world in which priests and soldiers inflict rape, barbarity and death on a terrified populace. The only bright spot is Randy Quaid in a humorous turn as a playful (if not terribly American) King Carlos.
Scenes might suggest some of Goya's more horrific images, but for the most part his art is ignored. His personal life is stripped from him so he may wander through Madrid as our eyes and ears (at least until he become deaf). He always manages to be in the room when great historical news arrives -- the execution of the French king or the landing of British forces in Spain.
The script contains one jarring leap in time, an awkward shift in the narration and much telescoping of events, like the British invasion that seemingly takes place a few weeks after Napoleon's arrival when in fact the French stayed for six years.
In general, the filmmakers failed to make several basic decisions before shooting: What are they trying to say and to whom are they saying it? The good vs. evil is painted too black and white to reveal much about the human character. Indeed, 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.
Below-the-line credits are terrific, which only increases an overwhelming sense of disappointment with the film's failed ambitions.
GOYA'S GHOSTS
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Xuxa presents a Saul Zaentz production
Credits:
Director: Milos Forman
Screenwriters: Milos Forman, Jean-Claude Carriere
Producer: Saul Zaentz
Executive producer: Paul Zaentz
Director of photography: Javier Aguirresarobe
Production designer: Patrizia Von Brandenstein
Music: Varhan Bauer
Co-producers: Mark Albela, Denise O'Dell
Costume designer: Yvonne Blake
Editor: Adam Boome
Cast:
Brother Lorenzo: Javier Bardem
Ines/Alicia: Natalie Portman
Goya: Stellan Skarsgard
King Carlos: Randy Quaid
Grand Inquisitor: Michael Lonsdale
Bilbatua: Jose Luis Gomez
Mabel Isabel Bilbatua: Mabel Rivera
Running time -- 113 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 7/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"Goya's Ghosts" is a decidedly odd film coming from such a prestigious group of filmmakers that includes writer-director Milos Forman, renowned screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere and producer Saul Zaentz. Its central figure is the great Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco de Goya, in many ways the world's first modern artist. Yet the film displays only passing interest in his art. Its focus instead is on Spain during the horrific period of the Inquisition and Napoleon's conquest, a subject that has its modern-day parallels, but the film never chooses to make them. Indeed, the story these talented filmmakers tell is a sad, even pathetic tale about tawdry events and cowardly individuals.
The film opened in Europe in November to poor results. Foreign boxoffice stands at $5.9 million, with $2.2 million coming from Spain. "Ghosts" makes its domestic debut Friday, July 20 in select markets before an expansion Aug. 3. While lavishly produced with exquisite period details and battle scenes, the film seems destined to attract a mostly art house crowd.
Goya (1746-1828) is viewed here -- no doubt with some justification -- as being apolitical, a man interested in his art but not caring who he paints, be it a haughty royal or a Grand Inquisitor. Yet the journalistic and subversive side to his art, especially in his "Caprichos" etchings or painting about Napoleon's invasion of a conservative, priest-ridden Spain, make one wonder if he wasn't a very good actor to maintain such cordial relations with royals and invaders alike while depicting the true horrors of his society.
Goya (Stellan Skarsgard) provides the film's viewpoint since he moves easily between the Royal Palace and streets and taverns of Madrid. The story he bears witness to concerns a young and beautiful daughter (Natalie Portman) of a wealthy Christian merchant, who also is his model. When she is unjustly fingered by the Inquisition for hiding "Jewish practices", she is tortured into a confession that causes the Church to lock her up in a filthy prison to rot.
Her father (Jose Luis Gomez) appeals to Goya to intervene with Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem), a fanatical priest behind the revival of the odious Inquisition. Goya arranges a dinner and the father a sizable bribe, but all the priest manages to do is impregnate the daughter. To demonstrate how easily one can produce "confessions," the father subjects Lorenzo to the same torture as his daughter endured, forcing him to admit to being a monkey. It's difficult to believe, though, that the family would suffer no repercussions for such an outrageous act.
Humiliated and ostracized from the Church, Lorenzo flees Spain only to return 15 years later with Napoleon's army and a portfolio for revenge against the Grand Inquisitor (Michael Lonsdale). He does manage to free his now deranged lover but thoughtlessly consigns her to an asylum. When he finally locates his daughter (Portman in an uncomfortable dual role), he discovers that she has turned to prostitution. His reaction is to arrest and send her to America, where she can't bother him. Only the British invade Spain and the tables turn again.
There is truly no one to like in this film. The ex-priest is a human rights abuser of the first order. Goya is too wishy-washy to stand for anything. One young girl goes insane, while her daughter becomes an unrepentant whore. Royals are out of touch with a world in which priests and soldiers inflict rape, barbarity and death on a terrified populace. The only bright spot is Randy Quaid in a humorous turn as a playful (if not terribly American) King Carlos.
Scenes might suggest some of Goya's more horrific images, but for the most part his art is ignored. His personal life is stripped from him so he may wander through Madrid as our eyes and ears (at least until he become deaf). He always manages to be in the room when great historical news arrives -- the execution of the French king or the landing of British forces in Spain.
The script contains one jarring leap in time, an awkward shift in the narration and much telescoping of events, like the British invasion that seemingly takes place a few weeks after Napoleon's arrival when in fact the French stayed for six years.
In general, the filmmakers failed to make several basic decisions before shooting: What are they trying to say and to whom are they saying it? The good vs. evil is painted too black and white to reveal much about the human character. Indeed, 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.
Below-the-line credits are terrific, which only increases an overwhelming sense of disappointment with the film's failed ambitions.
GOYA'S GHOSTS
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Xuxa presents a Saul Zaentz production
Credits:
Director: Milos Forman
Screenwriters: Milos Forman, Jean-Claude Carriere
Producer: Saul Zaentz
Executive producer: Paul Zaentz
Director of photography: Javier Aguirresarobe
Production designer: Patrizia Von Brandenstein
Music: Varhan Bauer
Co-producers: Mark Albela, Denise O'Dell
Costume designer: Yvonne Blake
Editor: Adam Boome
Cast:
Brother Lorenzo: Javier Bardem
Ines/Alicia: Natalie Portman
Goya: Stellan Skarsgard
King Carlos: Randy Quaid
Grand Inquisitor: Michael Lonsdale
Bilbatua: Jose Luis Gomez
Mabel Isabel Bilbatua: Mabel Rivera
Running time -- 113 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
The film opened in Europe in November to poor results. Foreign boxoffice stands at $5.9 million, with $2.2 million coming from Spain. "Ghosts" makes its domestic debut Friday, July 20 in select markets before an expansion Aug. 3. While lavishly produced with exquisite period details and battle scenes, the film seems destined to attract a mostly art house crowd.
Goya (1746-1828) is viewed here -- no doubt with some justification -- as being apolitical, a man interested in his art but not caring who he paints, be it a haughty royal or a Grand Inquisitor. Yet the journalistic and subversive side to his art, especially in his "Caprichos" etchings or painting about Napoleon's invasion of a conservative, priest-ridden Spain, make one wonder if he wasn't a very good actor to maintain such cordial relations with royals and invaders alike while depicting the true horrors of his society.
Goya (Stellan Skarsgard) provides the film's viewpoint since he moves easily between the Royal Palace and streets and taverns of Madrid. The story he bears witness to concerns a young and beautiful daughter (Natalie Portman) of a wealthy Christian merchant, who also is his model. When she is unjustly fingered by the Inquisition for hiding "Jewish practices", she is tortured into a confession that causes the Church to lock her up in a filthy prison to rot.
Her father (Jose Luis Gomez) appeals to Goya to intervene with Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem), a fanatical priest behind the revival of the odious Inquisition. Goya arranges a dinner and the father a sizable bribe, but all the priest manages to do is impregnate the daughter. To demonstrate how easily one can produce "confessions," the father subjects Lorenzo to the same torture as his daughter endured, forcing him to admit to being a monkey. It's difficult to believe, though, that the family would suffer no repercussions for such an outrageous act.
Humiliated and ostracized from the Church, Lorenzo flees Spain only to return 15 years later with Napoleon's army and a portfolio for revenge against the Grand Inquisitor (Michael Lonsdale). He does manage to free his now deranged lover but thoughtlessly consigns her to an asylum. When he finally locates his daughter (Portman in an uncomfortable dual role), he discovers that she has turned to prostitution. His reaction is to arrest and send her to America, where she can't bother him. Only the British invade Spain and the tables turn again.
There is truly no one to like in this film. The ex-priest is a human rights abuser of the first order. Goya is too wishy-washy to stand for anything. One young girl goes insane, while her daughter becomes an unrepentant whore. Royals are out of touch with a world in which priests and soldiers inflict rape, barbarity and death on a terrified populace. The only bright spot is Randy Quaid in a humorous turn as a playful (if not terribly American) King Carlos.
Scenes might suggest some of Goya's more horrific images, but for the most part his art is ignored. His personal life is stripped from him so he may wander through Madrid as our eyes and ears (at least until he become deaf). He always manages to be in the room when great historical news arrives -- the execution of the French king or the landing of British forces in Spain.
The script contains one jarring leap in time, an awkward shift in the narration and much telescoping of events, like the British invasion that seemingly takes place a few weeks after Napoleon's arrival when in fact the French stayed for six years.
In general, the filmmakers failed to make several basic decisions before shooting: What are they trying to say and to whom are they saying it? The good vs. evil is painted too black and white to reveal much about the human character. Indeed, 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.
Below-the-line credits are terrific, which only increases an overwhelming sense of disappointment with the film's failed ambitions.
GOYA'S GHOSTS
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Xuxa presents a Saul Zaentz production
Credits:
Director: Milos Forman
Screenwriters: Milos Forman, Jean-Claude Carriere
Producer: Saul Zaentz
Executive producer: Paul Zaentz
Director of photography: Javier Aguirresarobe
Production designer: Patrizia Von Brandenstein
Music: Varhan Bauer
Co-producers: Mark Albela, Denise O'Dell
Costume designer: Yvonne Blake
Editor: Adam Boome
Cast:
Brother Lorenzo: Javier Bardem
Ines/Alicia: Natalie Portman
Goya: Stellan Skarsgard
King Carlos: Randy Quaid
Grand Inquisitor: Michael Lonsdale
Bilbatua: Jose Luis Gomez
Mabel Isabel Bilbatua: Mabel Rivera
Running time -- 113 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 7/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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