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Goya In Bordeaux

1999, Movie, R, 94 mins

Goya In Bordeaux: Review

GOYA IN BORDEAUX
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This film's splendid visuals suit the subject, Spain's greatest painter, but its stilted dramatics are wholly at odds with Francisco de Goya's tumultuous life and times. Its greatest moment is its first; in the tremendously witty opening shot, the viscera of a gutted slaughterhouse cow morph into the ancient, scarred face of Goya himself, played with raspy gruffness by the veteran Spanish actor Paco Rabal (L'ECLISSE). Disoriented and close to the end of his life, Goya is sitting out a repressive Spanish regime in self-imposed exile in Bordeaux, France. Though he awakes to find himself wandering the streets in his nightgown, and is haunted by the specter of his great love, the dark-eyed Duchess of Alba (Maribel Verdu), Goya's memory is still sharp, and he recalls pivotal moments in his career for the benefit of his young daughter, Rosario (Daphne Fernandez). Without benefit of any clear historical context (dates or contemporary references would have helped), it's hard to know exactly what's happening when, but we watch as a young Goya (Jose Coronado) jockeys for position as court painter under Charles IV; suffers the disease that left him deaf at age 45; seduces the Duchess; and covers the walls of his Madrid home with his disturbing "black paintings." What we don't see is any coherent portrait of Goya himself. Once the director of piquant allegories of life under Franco, Carlos Saura has since grown famous for his musicals, often about traditional Spanish dance forms. There's an undeniable theatricality to this film as well; Saura uses backdrops and stage lighting to re-enact biographical episodes, also employing large-scale tableaux vivants based on Goya's works. The best of these, aided by the luscious cinematography of Vittorio Storaro (LAST TANGO IN PARIS, APOCALYPSE NOW), are stunning; less successful scenes are marred by silly horror-show effects and recall Les Mis more than any Goya masterpiece. leave a comment --Ken Fox
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