Don Juan DeMarco

Psychologist Dr Jack Mickler (Marlon Brando) is called upon to negotiate a man down from the top of a tall building - a man claiming to be the great Latin lover Don Juan de Marco (Johnny Depp). Although Mickler is about to retire, he agrees to take Mr de Marco on, and delve into his mind and past. What he didn't count on was that Don Juan is starting to make him feel like HE'S missing something...

The lives of Brando and Dunaway interact with their roles in the film - as oldies in need of rejuvenation by the young sex god. They were both sex symbols in their youth - Brando, till about the age of 60, was a real life Don Juan - he really HAS probably slept with over a thousand women. So if you know this it brings an interesting layer to the movie.

It is a great journey which calls up all the great noble romances of the past in a tongue in cheek manner, with a love of stories, of fantasy, of women.

I wouldn't hesitate to call it the most romantic movie ever made. If there was one flick you had to put on to set the right mood between you and a girl, this would be it.

Looking at Johnny Depp might also help her in that regard.

Its also a great fun family movie - which is a delicate balance to strike.

4/5

Disclaimer: there are about two sex scenes, which, though very discreetly and beautifully shot, featuring no vital organs, may be inappropriate for littlies, if you wish to shield them thus.

What a lovely way to spend an afternoon. The thing I liked best about this film was that it set up the question of whether Johnny Depp was really (a) Don Juan DeMarco or (b) a troubled youth from Phoenix. The film then made you realise the question was utterly irrelevant. I loved the way the film advocated using your imagination, and then allowed you to do so within its ending.

Who else could play Don Juan other than Johnny Depp? I thank him for the roles he chooses to play. Marlon Brando was also good, but I thought Faye Dunaway was a real standout. How beautiful she is.

I also loved the orchestration of "Have you ever really loved a woman?"

My mom and I have been trying to see more Johnny Depp movies since we saw his biography, we've seen the main movies that highlighted his career, but never the little one's along the way. Don Juan DeMarco, I don't remember hearing much about it when it was released, I think it was one of those small success films. But the thing that was interesting is that so many people who compared Johnny Depp to Marlon Brando on his diverse roles and character acting methods, they finally got to work together in this movie and bonus, they had great chemistry on screen. Don Juan DeMarco isn't by any means my favorite Johnny Depp film or a great film, but it's a good one that I think had a decent story and is very watchable at least one time. Johnny and Marlon just deliver the story so well and were so charismatic on screen. Johnny truly became Don Juan DeMarco.

Dr. Jack Mickler is a psychiatrist who is on his last few days before his big retirement. He meets a suicidal man who is claiming that he is the legendary Don Juan DeMarco, he is put into the hospital. He begs Jack to take the time to tell him his story and that if he can convince him that he is Don Juan, that Jack will let him go. He agrees and Don tells him his story. But Don's grandmother tells Jack a different story, is Don really Don or just some crazy guy who is desperately in love with a woman? But Jack believes him and even becomes a Don Juan at home with his wife.

Don Juan DeMarco is a cute film and is definitely worth a look. There's nothing wrong with the film, I just wasn't into it as much as I am usually thrilled with Johnny or Marlon. But I think this was one of those films they could be more relaxed with and they were already very much established as great actors, so they could do a movie like this. It didn't matter that it wasn't a box office success, it's just a cute movie that I'm sure you'll enjoy. It definitely leaves a smile on your face and makes you feel good, so I would recommend it for a fun little comedy.

7/10

This film is a romantic comedy based on the story of a young man who believes he is Don Juan, the famous and fictional Spanish lover who seduced more than a thousand young maidens, and the attempts of a psychiatrist on the verge of reform to cure him before losing his last patient. Although the story of the film has not turned out brilliant, the film is worth the poetic beauty of what happens on screen, as well as the grandiose interpretation of Johnny Depp in the lead role.

In fact, the script of the film is not particularly remarkable. It is what it is, no surprises. It has beauty, has poetry, the main character itself was idealized under poetic and very literary premises (it behaves as if it had come out of an adventure book), but nothing more. There is not even a concern to give credence to what is shown. The bet made lies in the poetic beauty of the plot, and in the beautiful and convincing performance of Depp, who metamorphoses when he puts on the seducer's mask. He has all the charisma, the presence, the strength necessary to give life to that character, associating them with a genial touch of madness and dissociation of reality (something very present in most of the characters the actor has done). Beside him, Marlon Brando, in one of his last works worthy of mention.

Moreover, I believe that there are two or three characteristics that deserve a positive reference: the first is careful flashbacks, with great attention to the costumes and scenarios chosen; the second is the dialogues, and particularly the Depp monologues, loaded with literary beauty; the third is the insertion, on the soundtrack, of a beautiful song by Brian Addams, "Have You Ever Really Loved a Women," a theme that fits like a glove in the film's tonic.

It's an interesting movie, full of positive features that will certainly appeal to Depp fans, but it may not have much more to offer those who do not like romantic comedies.

This is really an example of how a romantic comedy should be and how fantastic a romantic comedy can be. Intelligent, witty and great fun. It gives its audience respect by delivering a clever story with good actors and great lines.

The story is quite absurd and so is the duo in it - Marlon Brando and Johnny Depp. But this is just a good thing. Hollywood usually thinks its audience is filled with morons when making romantic comedies, but this is not so. There are still a few of us out here who enjoy the combination of intelligence, elegance and romance. This film delivers on all counts.

Love is a simple enough ingredient for a film. This film knows how to use it and the result is wonderful.