Wonderful character development!

The greatest movie ever made..!

Great Film overall

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I expected a higher rating for this film as I truly enjoyed it! First of all I have to say Pilar Lopez de Ayala is playing really GREAT! I simply love the character she portrays: a woman madly in love, jealous and passionate... obsessed with her love. Very convincing! At times she is so real you are blown away. It is not "teen ager crisis" as someone was saying above. I'm sure that person has never truly love or is hypocrite. That is the true passion!The male character is in my opinion very well chosen, the actor is the embodiment of the Spanish "hot" lover and makes her "madness" seem plausible! haha I read other reviews saying he is playing really shallow. That may be true but isn't that what Philip the Handsome should be all about?! I mean he is supposed to be shallow, beautiful but womanizer and certainly not loyal...causing her to torment. This is exactly what he does! The only thing I do not particularly enjoy about this movie is: -the intermezzos with another voice making it look like a documentary -the image of the old woman saying rather improper things (let's face it it doesn't sound good unless from the young and beautiful actors) -the ending... too precipitated I would say... Even though once again I have to congratulate Pialr for her GREAT ACTING!Watch this movie!

Vicente Aranda and his collaborators took liberties when they decided to base their film on the tragic figure of Juana, a Spanish princess, the daughter of the Catholic Kings of Spain. Leave it to Mr. Aranda's feverish imagination, and he will have the viewer thinking this young woman was a nymphomaniac of epic proportions. Historically this film is incorrect as it's derailed by the sexual context Mr. Aranda gave the movie.When Juana is sent to Flandes to marry Phillip, little prepared the young and sheltered woman to find a man who was, above all, a womanizer and a libertine, who took his pleasure wherever he could find. He captivates Juana with his good looks and bed manners. In fact, Phillip's nickname was "the handsome", something that comes across in the way this vain man acts throughout his life.Pilar Lopez Ayala, who plays the leading role, shows some passionate moments in the way she portraits the tragic Juana. Danielle Liotti, is seen as Phillip. Eloy Azorin appears as Alvaro and Giuliano Gemma is DeVeyre, Phillip's right hand man.

If you like overwrought historical dramas, not particularly good ones, I'd say this is the film to watch. We see Joan at the beginning as a young woman who is uncertain of being married for political reasons. After that, I'd say I'm at a lost as to what the hell this woman is doing or feeling. She is called mad several times in the movie over, even before she displays any sort of crazy behavior--so I'm likely to think it was just her fulfilling some prophecies. And when she does, that's the ONLY thing she does in the entire movie except deliver her own babies and spread her legs. Not that that is a bad thing. There is quite a bit of leg-spreading in this film--just little else to see after that. The camera cuts away to some monotonous meeting of parliament or if it lingers, the scene isn't particularly sensual or erotic--just boring and full of business talk.Some have been saying that she was ahead of her time, being such a sexual woman. I didn't think so. Were she to be empowered by sex and not driven to erratic behavior, I'd say she was ahead of her time. Her husband--played by Daniele Lioti, whose two expressions are "I'm going to rape you" and "I'm going to beat you"--seems to be someone to run away from, not love with a fiery passion. The love scenes between this silly long-haired eye-candy and Joan actually made the audience laugh instead of sympathize. Nuh uh, Vicente Aranda, I don't think so.Overall, I liked the costumes.

Seeing a movie with such drama, excitement and great acting is very rare. Seeing it in Spanish with no subtitles and getting the same impression, is even greater. This movie topped my list in 2001 as one of the best I've ever seen. I suggest to anyone that enjoys a great movie, this is a must see.