MAD LOVE
Directed by: Vicente Aranda.
Produced by: Enrique Cerezo.
Written by: Aranda.
Director of Photography: Paco Femenia.
Edited by: Teresa Font.
Music by: José Nieto.
Released by: Columbia TriStar.
Country of Origin: Italy/Spain/Portugal (in Spanish). 115 min. Rated: R.
With: Pilar López de Ayala & Daniele Liotti.
DVD Features: Scene Selection. English & French subtitles. Trailer.

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
April 24, 2003