There are at least two memorable scenes in Milos Forman's "Goya's Ghost".
One sequence shows us step by step how Spanish artist Goya created his famous etchings.
The other is a dinner scene where a truly wonderful Javier Bardem, without revealing too much, is asked to compare himself to a monkey.
Goya's Ghost is a film inspired by Goya's haunting images that Forman and his co-writer Jean-Claude Carriere concoct into a story halfway between a Poesque nightmare of dungeons and inquisition (The Pit and the Pendulm) and a dramatic historical feuilletton a la Victor Hugo.
There are some flaws, the story doesn't seem to have a barycentre (who is the lead here?) and the plot somehow ties too neatly with real historical events.
Having said that "Goya's Ghost" for its production values is clearly a notch higher than most period dramas.
The cast is strong, the aforementioned Bardem, Natalie Portman looking straight out of a painting, Scandinavian actor Stellan Skarsgaard gives a keen portrayal of the Spanish artist and the American Randy Quaid a surprisingly effective one of the somehow ineffective king of Spain. Like with Jeffrey Jones's Emperor in "Amadeus", Forman seem to know how to tackle his monarchs.
Goya's Ghost is a film inspired by Goya's haunting images that Forman and his co-writer Jean-Claude Carriere concoct into a story halfway between a Poesque nightmare of dungeons and inquisition (The Pit and the Pendulm) and a dramatic historical feuilletton a la Victor Hugo.
There are some flaws, the story doesn't seem to have a barycentre (who is the lead here?) and the plot somehow ties too neatly with real historical events.
Having said that "Goya's Ghost" for its production values is clearly a notch higher than most period dramas.
The cast is strong, the aforementioned Bardem, Natalie Portman looking straight out of a painting, Scandinavian actor Stellan Skarsgaard gives a keen portrayal of the Spanish artist and the American Randy Quaid a surprisingly effective one of the somehow ineffective king of Spain. Like with Jeffrey Jones's Emperor in "Amadeus", Forman seem to know how to tackle his monarchs.
