billr-3

It may be a cry in the wilderness, but I abhor the appropriation of history as a forum for just about any point of view one wishes to peddle. If one wishes to make a fantasy film about proto-feminist in 16th century Venice, do so. I will not quarrel with your choices. But do not pass it off as history. Do not indulge the disingenuous premise that the resultant fiction is history. It is a lie. It is lying by omission and distortion. It is a poor use of an education, if nothing else.

This is an adult version of the Jane Eyre/Mr Rochester romance known to all English reading school girls. Full of surprises, and with a moral ambiguity worthy of Henry James, it is a nicely played and directed gem. A wonderful, small film of a children's classic rewritten for adults. I loved it.

The start of the film is interesting, though the violence (before the credits, I think) is/was overplayed. BTW, Talisa Soto as Nestor/Banderas lost love was strikingly beautiful. It seems to me that this film is seriouly flawed in three ways. 1: Generally, I felt the actors were under directed. The priciple performances failed to coalesce. Which brings me to my second reservation: The casting of Maruschka Detmers as Delores Fuentes. A Dutch actress I think, but a credible latina. However, this role called for an actress with star quality. Casting Detmers in this role was a producer/director flaw of serious proportions. Perhaps someone else can provide a reason for this casting decision. The film was doomed from that point on. And speaking of doom, I feel anytime a film kills off a major character, to bring about the dramas resolution, it is an act of desperation, or more frequently perhaps a common, everday failure of imagination. Don't ask me to care for a character, and then kill them off for some phony resolution. Such dramatist cannot be trusted with my feelings.