La Celestina

Interesting movie to look at, but failed to make me really care about the characters. The dialogue and manner of speaking was rather artificial and overly-theatrical; as if it were trying to go for a Shakespeare-lite effect. The characters' actions sometimes seemed to be nonsensical and in service to the plot rather than being the way people in such a situation would really behave; they would often act against their own obvious best interests with little to gain. If there was any kind of theme here I'm not sure what it was: Greed is bad? Let love take a natural course, without resorting to supernatural means to advance it? And I'm not even sure that Celestina really did any "magic" to get the two lovers together; she was just more of a persuasive facilitator than potion-brewing sorceress. I myself didn't have any problem with the sex/nudity; there's nothing wrong with looking at beautiful bodies and people enjoying each other. In the DVD I saw, however, some of the full-frontal nudity was blurred out, and some--a scene of Mr. Botto arising out of a bathtub--was not, so I guess someone somewhere DID have a problem with it.

If you like Penélope Cruz or Juan Diego Botto, don't ever watch this film. Possibly it is their worst interpretation. But La Celestina is more than these two players. All the supporting actors and actresses make a really good job, and it is always a pleasure to see Terele Pávez playing. The setting is good, the dresses are quite correct and the adaptation of this difficult book (novel or theater play or whatever the critics decide it will be) is, at least, acceptable.

This movie is part of the spanish cultural heritage. That is the play is that it is based on.

Written by Fernando Rojas in the beginning of the renaissance it was meant as a warning for the youth in his days. That is why this movie feel so staged all the time. For Penelope Cruz it was the beginning of her career and it must have been a huge honor to have been selected for this role.

The movie follows the play fairly truly from beginning to the end. All characters specialy la Celestina were done well and they didn't look all to professional. Remember it was a play meant to be performed at local gatherings. If you go to Salamanca in Spain you can find the parco Calisto y Melibea as a rememberance. Only open at times noboddy knows.

Based on the novel considered to be one of the greatest works of Spanish literature, and traditionally marks the end of medieval literature and the beginning of the literary renaissance in Spain . It deals with a young nobleman , Calisto (Juan Diego Botto) , who falls in love for Melibea (Penélope Cruz) , the daughter of a rich trader . Calisto's servant Sempronio suggests they get the intriguing Celestina (Terele Pavez) to further the romance . As he uses the old procuress Celestina to start an affair with Melibea , an unmarried girl kept in seclusion by her parents . The sorceress Celestina is the owner of a brothel and in charge of two young employees . She uses people's greed, sexual appetite which she helps create , then provides means to satisfy , and love to control them . She was once a prostitute, and now she dedicates her time to arranging discreet meetings between illicit lovers, and at the same time uses her house as a brothel for the prostitutes Elicia (Candela Peña) and Areusa (Maribel Verdu) . However Calisto's other servant Parmeno is suspicious of Celestina , as he knows about her tricks. After Celestina convinces Melibea of Calisto's love and manages a brief clandestine meeting between them , Calisto gives Celestina a valuable gold chain . Both servants -Pármeno (Jordi Mollà) and Sempronio (Nancho Novo)- are not satisfied with the rewards supplied by Celestina and demand more from her . As when the weary Calisto returns home at dawn to sleep, his two servants go round to Celestina's house to get their share of the gold . Celestina tries to cheat them and in rage fight and events go awry .

The rich as well as perverse roles of this film based on famous book ¨La Celestina¨ by Fernando De Rojas are inspired by the meddling characters of the comedies of Plautus and in works of the Middle Ages such as The Book of Good Love by Juan Ruiz ¨Arcipreste De Hita¨ and Italian works like The Tale of the Two Lovers by Enea Silvio Piccolomini and Elegía de Madonna Fiammeta by Giovanni Boccaccio and other usual archetypes of medieval literature . La Celestina was written during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella , whose marriage took place in 1469 and lasted until 1504 , the year of Isabella's death, which occupies the last phase of the Pre-Renaissance for Spain and when took place major events in the history of Spain as the discovery of the Americas , the conquest of Granada and the expulsion of the Jews . The film relies heavily on the intrigues of the nasty servants plenty of nudism and sexual scenes in which the couples of whores and villains are usually making love . One common feature of all of the characters result to be their individualism , their egoism, and their lack of altruism . The private benefit of the lower-class characters forms a substitute for the love/lust present for the upper class . The character development is carried out through relationships between complementary or opposing roles , as in general there are two opposite groups of characters, the servants and the nobles, and within each group are characters divided into pairs . At the end take place a dramatic sequence of happenings , thus setting off treason , deaths and executions . Nice acting by Terele Pavez as Celestina , she gives a colorful and vivid character , hedonistic , miserly , and yet full of life. She has such a deep understanding of the psychology of the other characters that she can convince even those who do not agree with her plans to accede to them . Celestina represents a subversive element in the society, by spreading and facilitating sexual pleasure . As the name Celestina has become synonymous with Procuress , especially an older woman used to further an illicit affair , and is a literary archetype of this character , the masculine counterpart being Pandarus . Celestina is the element that catalyzes the tragedy, and represents a life lived with wild abandon . Acceptable main cast formed by young actors as Juan Diego Botto and Penélope Cruz . They are supported by a magnificent secondary cast , such as Nathalie Seseña , Carlos Fuentes , Anna Lizaran , Ángel Andrés López , Lluís Homar and Ana Risueño , among others .

Colorful and brilliant cinematography by José Luis López-Linares . Atmospheric and evocative musical score full of Middle Age music and classical soundtrack . The motion picture was regularly shot by Gerardo Vera , being filmed in his usual formal and stylistic scholarship , without leaving a trace the thought-provoking issues , in terms of dramatic and narrative excitement . It was notorious screen-writer Rafael Azcona who encouraged director Gerardo Vera to make this movie . Gerardo Vera was born in Madrid , where he often shoots his films . He is a good filmmaker , production designer and costume designer , known for Deseo (2002) , Tattoo (1999) , Segunda Piel (1999) and especially this , La Celestina (1996). Gerardo Vera is particularly famous as a prestigious Production designer , being known for El Pecador Impeccable , Fuego Eterno , Mitad del Cielo , Tasio , Feroz and La Niña De Tus Ojos (1998).

They are several renditions about ¨La Celestina¨, although usually regarded as a novel , it is written as a continuous series of dialogues and can be taken as a play , having been staged as such and filmed . These are the followings : 1969 year by Cesar Fernández Arvadin with Julián Mateos as Calisto , Elisa Ramírez as Melibea and Amelia de la Torre as Celestina ; TV miniseries with Miguel Ayones , Gemma Cuervo , Cándida Losada and Tony Soler as Celestina and Mexican version (1976) with Isela Vega , Ofelia , and Ana De Sade

'La Celestina' is based on Fernando de Rojas 1499 novel but this translation on screen is truly dull. 'La Celestina' looks good. The costumes and sets look radiant. The score is pleasant to the ears until it gets too repetitive and intrusive. The screenplay is poor especially the awful dialogues. 'La Celestina' is more a soap opera than a movie. Perhaps the director was confused about whether he was making a movie or a 'telenovella'. The dialogue delivery is laughably bad. The soliloquys are most annoying. The acting is overtly theatrical. With actors like Jordi Molla and Penelope Cruz, one would have expected better. Maribel Verdu is the only one who turns in a decent performance. For a fairy tale, 'La Celestina' has a lot of sex which are tastefully shot. Anyway, the film doesn't otherwise live up to expectation. Yawn.