Very well executed

A Disappointing Continuation

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

The acting and production values are of the highest order in "Goya's Ghost". Because I don't get around much anymore, I had not seen Ms Portman in a movie until "Ghost", and was very impressed, for like all the roles in this movie, her's was challenging. Javier Bardem is tough to equal in any movie, and as the 'heavy', (another heavy?!) he is outstanding; Stellan Skarsgård has come a long, long ways since "The Ox", and he has had a mixture of roles, some of them pretty thankless. As Goya, he does very well--a great actor. Natalie Portman--as I was a first timer regards seeing her work, I was bowled over--her role requires a terrible transformation, and makeup only goes so far, acting must be the key ingredient. So, along with the outstanding set designs and production values, Forman created another outstanding period piece. By the way, the actress Blanca Portillo who does the Spanish queen has a key small part--and you'll know her best scene when you see it! The story? It is about a wretched time and wretched people in a position of trust who violate that and prey on whomever they can. I think "Ghost" might not be for those who are not really into period pieces, but I am!

I was so impressed by this monumental film that even now, the day after watching it, It's still in my mind. Milos Forman must be one of the great directors on record in the history of movie-making.To me, this is a masterpiece, a flawed one, if we consider the language used in it (English) spoken by the different actors with different accents and some of them too strong (Bardem's) to make the character believable, specially when one was accustomed to see that actor acting in his native tongue and his self-consciousness to dominate the accent is evident, almost painful to hear, like seeing somebody walking on exceedingly high heels when not yet fully accustomed to them.But we can consider that a minor matter and at the same time appreciate that the actor made a considerable effort to learn his dialogue in a language foreign to him.Letting aside this minor objection, this film is an incredible jewel. Everything in it has been done impeccably and the story line is so forceful that absorbs one mind from the very beginning without letting go till the very end (the very end of the credits!!!).The film opens with jaw dropping drawings by Goya and ends the same way. After seeing this gallery of incredible artwork, one thinks that Goya must be the greatest painter on Earth from the beginning of times till tomorrow. Just looking at these pictures is worth the sitting time in front of the screen.The way the Spanish Inquisition conducted its deeds makes it a wonder to see that the catholic church is still going on, since they were no different in their conduct throughout all the centuries they ruled the coop, to Hitler and his crimes during the Twentieth Century. But obviously the human brain is wired in ways still unknown to us.I truly regret that this movie wasn't done in Spanish, because that took away the full flavor that Spain, one of the most colorful countries in all the World, could have enhanced its atmosphere enormously, and the proof we have it here and there, when we hear some exclamations shout in Spanish in the background and devastatingly so at the very end, when that last scene is accompanied by street children singing off camera a popular children's song in Spanish. All of a sudden the film becomes a 3D picture, now round and complete. We would experiment the same if a Shakespearean work was done in Spanish or Polish, or in any other language but English.Language authenticity is primordial for certain works, I remember seeing "The Barefoot Contessa" in a Barcelona's movie-house and when Ava Gardner (A Spanish Gypsy Girl???!!!) said, in a very heavily accented Spanish: ¿Qué hace usted aquí, no tiene derecho a entrar..." well, it was impossible to hear the whole phrase because the collective laughter from the audience drowned the rest of it."Los fantasmas de Goya", a Masterpiece.

Not great but beautiful. A story of a time. Delicate hush. Nostalgic and dramatic. A painter as axis. A priest as pray. And a young lady for who an error was damnation. A child, a revolution and some paintings in a old-new Spain. A fairy tale in a very lost room. And nostalgic air. A film of nuances who eats colors. About ghosts of every soul. About love and its forms in the waters of fear. About games and expectations., About a world, cruel, fake but interesting. A shadows collection. Small gestures and tasty words. A duel, very intelligent duel Javier Bardem - Stellan Starsgard. Emotions and images. And Milos Forman as director. Must see! As small remember and talk with ordinaries ghosts of your, Goya or a woman with child.

In general, B-movies usually fall under the horror category, as horror movies are ripe for self-parody. But "Goya's Ghosts" has that campy feel to it, although this is a costume drama, not a horror movie. Because this is coming from Milos Forman, who won Oscars for his direction of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Amadaus," I would hope that this was intentional, but I doubt it. There's no sense of parody here, only schlock.Spain, 1792. The Spanish Inquisition has overtaken Spain. Francisco Goya (Stellan Skaarsgard) is a painter whose work has made him both friends and enemies. In response to his "mocking the men of cloth," a monk named Lorenzo (Javier Bardem) decides to increase the strength of the Inquisition. But Goya's muse, a girl named Ines (Natalie Portman) is accused of being Jewish, and imprisoned. Now Goya becomes embroiled in a desperate fight to release Ines, and find out what is really going on.The problem is not the story. Had the film been better made, this could have been a deeply affecting drama. However, Forman doesn't seem to care about his film at all, and it shows. It's lazily made, and all in all, a wasted effort.The performances don't help much. Skarsgaard, Bardem and Portman are talented actors, but no one seems to give a noteworthy performance. Bardem and Skarsgaard do what they can, but Forman's direction lets them down. Portman is simply awful; it's easily the worst performance she's ever given. I like Natalie Portman, but try as I might, I can't excuse her work here. To be fair, her first scene is effective, but everything else she does is awful.I'd give "Goya's Ghosts" a more favorable review (albeit not by much) had it not been for the ending. It just ends without resolving anything. I'll admit that some movies do well with open-ended endings, but here it doesn't work. It just stops telling the main story.Unless you're a die-hard fan of any of the actors, don't bother.