Touches You

Powerful

People are voting emotionally.

Blistering performances.

I was not aware of this magnificent film until 2010 and did not see it till now (May 2011), but it not only does not date, but Natalie Portman was a revelation, considering I have just seen her in Black Swan, and in this much earlier film, she was already proving her acting prowess. Javier Bardem proves his worth as much as in his later award winning films (The Sea Inside, No Country For Old Men, etc.) and I wonder how such a craggy-looking man can be so charismatic. Bardem has something unusual, a rare quality of conveying total realism in his acting which becomes him, not just a superficial persona he puts on. The supporting cast, especially Stellan Skarsgaard as Goya, provide a worthy backdrop for the two central, very powerful roles played by Bardem and Portman who convey the darkness of the period in excruciatingly detailed performances, then reflected in Goya's paintings. The film brings to life Goya's dark, realistic portraits of humanity in all its terror, grotesqueness, cruelty, and suffering during a tumultuous period of war and carnage. A brilliant film by Forman and I recommend anyone wanting a challenge in film to see this if they haven't already done so.

What a disappointment it was to learn that one of my favourite directors, Milos Forman, would go to Spain where animal cruelty laws do not apply and would exploit that loophole to abuse and kill animals for our entertainment.A chicken is trampled by horses, a real animal carcass is thrown into a field so that vultures can be shot, horses are abused and in obvious distress. And unlike civilized countries where this can all be done with special effects and animatronics, Forman took the cheap route and caused harm and death to actual living creatures."The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by how well it treats its animals." ~M.K. GandhiSpain, you blew it.Milos, you blew it.I realize that there are those among you who do not care about real animals being killed or abused in films. That is your prerogative. But I, for one, wish someone had warned me before I wasted my money on this. In case there are others out there who feel the same way, this is your warning. Do an IMDb keyword search on "actual-animal-killed" if you want to know what other films to avoid. Hint: if it was filmed in Spain, Mexico, USA pre-1965, Korea, Philippines or China, you can bet the animal cruelty/killing on screen was real.

I would not have appreciated this film so much if I had not been to the Prado (Art Museum) in Madrid. Goya's paintings and drawings of the horrors of war, and the Inquisition, are vividly displayed there. The integration of Goya's art and vision within the film itself is masterful. Add to that excellent costumes, cinematography ,and direction by Milos Foreman; plus incredible pre Oscar performances by Bardem and Portman,and you have a masterpiece worthy of Goya himself. Historically accurate, with a few minor flaws, the film resonates within the soul of the viewer and stands along such great epics of injustice as Schindler's List, and The Pianist.

Goya's Ghosts is an appealing blend of creative fiction and history. It's the story of young Ines (Portman) and the consequences she endures for refusing to eat pig at the time of the Spanish Inquisition. Who knew someone's life could be turned upside down for not eating a roasted animal? It's also about horny Brother Lorenzo (Bardem). Or was he horny? Only a DNA test can tell us for sure, because years later, when Ines's child shows up, the screenwriters (Forman and Carriere) cleverly make the young woman look like her mother, not her father.And then there's Spanish print maker, romantic painter/painter to royalty, Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Skarsgard). Interwoven into the story, Goya is so caught up in the thick of things that his desire to help and stabilize people becomes the backbone of this well-told drama.Who wins, who loses at the end? Watch and find out. It's a neat ending.For sure, Goya's etchings are the ghosts. The only way he could be social commentator during the time he lived was through his etchings. And through his etchings he could ridicule the corrupt and demented ways of society. Forman and Carriere take Goya's Ghosts and creatively present a story told in words and celluloid. I think Goya would be proud.