Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
MAD LOVE
Just as the English title of this
Spanish film (Juana la loca/Joan the Mad) implies, this is a bodice ripper in
any language. Based on the sad fate of Princess Joan (López de
Ayala), daughter of Queen Isabel of Castille, the film begins in 1496 when
Juana is shipped off to Flanders for an arranged marriage to Archduke
Phillip of Austria (Liotti). It’s lust at first sight, and Phillip marries Joan
immediately before sweeping her off her feet and into the bedroom for a
round of loud lovemaking. As soon as Juana gives birth to an heir, Phillip
tires of her. But the princess remains insatiable. Offering her breasts after
nursing her child, Phillip recoils. She counters, “It isn’t shamelessness. It’s
passion. Uncontrollable passion.” The more he strays, the more
determined she is that he love her. “I believe you aren’t in love if you
aren’t jealous,” she says. The film only comes alive when Joan’s behavior
becomes volatile, narcissistic, and almost violent. When her father confides
to Phillip that his daughter is insane, it’s a surprise. Her behavior has been
more dutiful than odd until Phillip rejects her. Clearly, even Joan is
supposed to be a victim of the male hierarchy. But because their relationship
is thinly written, with Phillip as a shallow, one-dimensional character, Joan's
behavior becomes exasperating rather than understandable. Liotti, with his
long stringy hair and buff body, looks like he stepped off the cover of a
Harlequin romance novel. But López de Ayala pulls out all stops with
a large emotional range. She just needs a better script than this glossy
telenovela. KT
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