Goya's Ghosts

Goya's Ghosts *1/2

Directed by Milos Forman
Written by Milos Forman and Jean-Claude Carrière

Starring:
Javier Bardem as Brother Lorenzo
Natalie Portman as Inés/Alicia
Stellan Skarsgård as Goya
Randy Quaid as King Carlos IV
Blanca Portillo as Queen María Luisa
Michael Lonsdale as Father Gregorio
José Luis Gómez as Tomás Bilbatúa
Mabel Rivera as María Isabel Bilbatúa

114 Minutes(Rated R for violence, disturbing images, some sexual content and nudity.)
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I am still very young, and for that reason it is impossible for me to have seen every single movie out there-even all of the ones that are deemed "classic." And I can only do my best, seeing one at a time, even though for every single classic film that I have not seen from the 60's, 70's, or 80's, I can think of a great film from the last seven years that people should see and have not. Since I can only go one by one whenever I have a spare moment to watch a DVD at home that isn't from Netflix, I have only recently seen the 1975 Best Picture winner "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." I enjoyed it immensely, and I only found out the next day that on my weekend schedule there was the first new film in a while from Milos Forman, the director of "Cuckoo's Nest." I knew that I would be seeing "Goya's Ghosts," but knew nothing about Forman. And at one point I was marveled to realize that the same man that made such a wonderful film thirty years ago ended up making one of the dullest, messiest, and worst films of the year. "Goya's Ghosts" takes three perfectly fine actors, and an obviously damn good director, and placing them into a pointless excursion into the world of the Inquisition. And that's a real shame, as with the talent here there could have been quite the historical epic. And instead it passes off as silly and mostly ridiculous.

"Goya's Ghosts" has so much going on that it seems impossible to cram the important parts into a brief summary. I suppose I'll do my best. There is Brother Lorenzo (played by the great Javier Bardem, who I hope gets an Oscar nomination for his work in "No Country for Old Men" coming out in November). He is an agent of the Inquisition, and is working on finding out more about the painter Francisco Goya, who is showing Spain's intolerance in his work. He then gets involved in Ines, a beautiful young woman who was painted by Goya once and captures the interest in Lorenzo. When she is arrested because she has Jewish blood in her-and because she did not eat pork one night because she does not like the taste-she is tortured, raped, and then falsely confesses that she has been taking a part in Jewish activities. Years later when she gets out, she is convinced that she had a daughter who was taken away from her and enlists in the aid of Goya. But her mind is so warped from the jail that she has no clue as to how long she has been locked up blocking all perceptions of time that she could have.

In a nutshell that is the basic outline of "Goya's Ghosts," even though the script offers so many twists and turns that it became impossible to (or want to) follow the story. The subplot with Ines and her daughter, both roles played by Natalie Portman, was a bit ridiculous-all part of a tacked on "Fifteen Years Later" segment that runs for fifty five minutes. The whole movie was just hilarious, and its supposed to be a serious drama. There is even a portion with Randy Quaid as King Carlos IV, and a strangely put little bit where he plays an awful violin composition. He disappears shortly into the film and is never seen from or heard of again, and I guess Quaid was just in need of a paycheck. All three main actors just seem as bored with the material as the viewer. Bardem really isn't able to act as well as normal because there is nothing in the character or script for him to develop. I suppose the main problem with "Goya's Ghosts" is that it isn't really about anything. It focuses on these three characters, but never really knows who should be the one that deserves the most focus about. And it underwrites them all as a result. Is it a story about the life of Francesco Goya? Or is it a story of a woman whose life is ruined by the Inquisition? Or is it a story about a man whose opinions on the whole thing changes? And the script is so concerned with packing in all of these interesting twists and late developments that it doesn't even bother to find a focus or find a point to make. And with all these "twists," you would expect something a bit more entertaining, but this is nothing but. There is plenty better art house fare to see than "Goya's Ghosts," and I would recommend just about any one of them.