Tirante el Blanco

Oh boy! What a shameful experience. Stakes were high with this one. Four fine actresses on a 'Dangerous liaisons' type of film but somehow in the process everything witty and entertaining contained in this great novel of the 15h century was lost in translation.

The film gives no clue whatsoever if the tales being told have anything to do with some army in particular in some period of history or with the lord of the rings saga..

(Hint: the turks are the orks, and Tirant resembles Aragorn, though no Virgo Mortensen in sight just a lookalike). (Another hint: the standard flag of Tirant's side in battle scenes)

The film carries a solemnity that echoes through the halls and chambers of every step of flight of stairs of the palace in which the static action takes place. Can you hear my yawn from the aisles of the castle?

Esther Nubiola as Carmesina -the princess-, Ingrid Rubio as Estephania, Leonor Watling as Pleasureofmylife, Victoria Abril as the Peacefulwidow and Jane Asher as the queen do their best in trying to liven things up.

But the dead funeral air of Vicente Aranda's take at sex scenes won't make you have a hard on if it's not in the way of rigor mortis.

Of course it's not the book, but what screen adaptation ever is? There's no way a work of over 800 pages and full of digressions can be adequately condensed into a two-hour film. As some people have said in the Message Boards section, we should be grateful that the film will make this neglected masterpiece known to a wider audience.

So Aranda does what so many other screenwriters have done in the circumstances: chooses one incident or aspect out of a multitude, elaborates on that and tries to remain faithful to the spirit of the book. But does he remain faithful? That's the trouble. Certainly there's a love story with sensuality in the Tirant and not the platonic stuff of other mediaeval romances, but Aranda piles on the sex until it becomes a bawdy romp. It's a pity that people will get the impression the whole book is like that.

That said, the acting is good, the hero is handsome, the heroine is delicious dressed and undressed, Yvonne Blake's costume designs are truly gorgeous, and the film has humour - in fact it could be classed as a romantic comedy. I especially liked the ending, but no spoilers! You can also learn a bit of romanticised history about the Turks and the end of the Byzantine Empire. (Tirant goes to Constantinople to defend it, but truth is that Constantinople had already fallen before the book was written.)

A special tribute to the dubbers is in order. I saw the version in Valencian, and the dubbing was so perfect that it could well have been the original.

The film presents a highly fictionalized alternate history narrative of the events leading to the Fall of Constantinople . It tells the feats and adventures of Knight Tirant lo Blanc (Casper Zafer) from Turkey . In 1401, Tirant lo Blanc, a famous knight, arrives with his small but battle-hardened troops of Almogavars, to the port of Constantinople . Constantinople is under treat of a Ottoman invasion and therefore it is in desperate need of a skillful military leader . Tirante the knight is as committed to fighting the Turks in Constantinople as he is to relieving Carmesina, (Esther Nubiola) the heiress to the Byzantine Empire, of her virginity . Carmensina confides her love for Tirant to her guardian Ines, nicknamed the 'Placid Widow' (Victoria Abril) . Carmensina's friends and confidantes, her maidens: Pleasure-of-My-Life (Leonor Watling) and Estefanía (Ingrid Rubio) , think otherwise . Estefania, another lady-in-waiting, supports Tirant's affair with Carmesina because she has fallen in love with Tirant's right-hand man Diafebus (Charlie Cox) . Meanwhile, the Emperor (Giancarlo Giannini) and Empress (Jane Asher) contemplate that Constantinople stands no chance against a Turkish onslaught and sees their daughter's marriage to the Sultan as the sole way to accommodate him .

This lavish film contains impressive battles , love stories , erotica with a lot of nudism , luxurious costumes by Oscarized Yvonne Blake and historical events . This historical resemblance is also evident in the description of events occurring around Constantinople and the defeat of Sultan Mehmed II "the conqueror," and ultimately leading to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 . The script was written by Aranda and was shot in English, being based on hero Tirant lo Blanch, a Valencian language chivalry novel dating to 1490, written by Joanot Martorell . The plot is based on the later part of the Tirant book , and events leading to his involvement in Constantinople and afterwards. It tells the story of a medieval knight Tirant from Brittany who has a series of adventures across Turkey . The main characters are full of life and sensuous love, sarcasm , and human feelings . Emotive and sensitive score full of oriental and Arab chores by Jose Nieto , Aranda's ordinary . Colorful and glamorous cinematography by Jose Luis Alcaine , it was filmed in Madrid, Istanbul, Palermo, Granada, Huelva, Barcelona and Valencia . ¨Tirante El Blanco¨ or ¨The Maidens' Conspiracy¨ was spectacular and deliberately directed by recently deceased filmmaker Vicente Aranda .

Tirant lo Blanc is a romance written (1490) by Joanot Martorell , is the most famous chivalric romance in the Valencian language . It is one of the best known medieval works of Spanish literature and it tells the story of a medieval knight Tirant from Brittany who has a series of adventures across Europe in his quest. He joins in knightly competitions in England and France until the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire asks him to help in the war against the Ottoman Turks, an Islamic tribe of invaders threatening Constantinople, the capital and seat of the Empire. Tirant accepts and is made Megaduke of the Byzantine Empire and the captain of an army . He defeats the Turkish invaders and saves the Empire from destruction. Afterwards, he fights the Turks in many regions of the eastern Mediterranean and north Africa, but he dies just before he can marry the pretty heiress of the Byzantine Empire. The loss of Constantinople by Constantine XII to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 was considered at the time to be a major blow to Christian Europe. Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra, author of the great Spanish classic "Don Quixote", thought very highly of "Tirant", in contrast to his unfavorable opinion of many other books of chivalry . In writing his novel, Martorell perhaps rewrote history to fit what he wanted it to be , which in a way makes it a precursor of the present-day genre of alternate history.

I hadn't read the book prior to seeing the movie, so I can't compare them. Honestly, I expected it to be deadly bad. And I was really surprised. The story is beautiful, filled with both humor and drama. It's not the "Troya" kind of film, the battle scenes are somehow poor (maybe due to a bad production?) yet Aranda gives them a personal touch. Aranda surprises again with his ability to investigate love, passion and human feelings. I loved the fact that Tirant is not the typical hero. Shame that the actor is sometimes empty...specially in comparison to the women of the film. Sure that Esther Nubiola is a discovery, we can read everything from her eyes and she's the perfect image for sensuality. Leonor Watling and Ingrid Rubio bring brightness to the movie, as well as Victoria Abril,able to catch the eye of the camera even from the back. A special congratulations to Giancarlo Gianini, this guy is always perfect whatever he does. Amazing dresses,by Ivonne Blake and beautiful music, with those breathtaking child chorus. The only shame, that Vicente Aranda didn't have the right producers and sometimes you can feel it through the movie.

Well, the story is based on the book "Tirant lo Blanc", written by Joanot Martorell in XIV century. Tirant is the best knight of Aragon Kingdom and must go to Constantinople to help the Emperor to fight against the Turkeys. There, he will fall in love with little princess Carmesina and will fight in the war. Unfortunately, things will not happen as our lovers like, as politics are between them. The movie is well done, the task of clothes and photography is very good, as the choice of actors and their acting. Unfortunately, as the movie focuses only in the bed aspects of court's live, the vision of the story is very partial (the story is not bad, but I think the director could have taken more profit of it), and, in addition, the war scenes are horrible. This is possibly due to lack of money, but, used to see Hollywood wars, the effect is terrible and disgusting. The material (the main book) is good, as the director, but the result could have been much better. I expected more of the director Vicente Aranda.