Grunge_Tutu
Having read the novel, I was curious to see how it would be made into a film. I had high hopes, because the book was extremely poignant and well-written. However, these hopes were dashed within the first five minutes of this truly awful movie.Now, I'm a fan of both Antonio Banderas and Jennifer Connelly. I think they're great actors. However, Of Love and Shadows brought out the worst in both. The acting was hideous and essentially consisted of Jennifer Connelly using an awful accent while making bedroom eyes at Antionio Banderas, who did the same (but with a much better accent).Aside from the terrible performances, the real flaw of this film was that it tried to incorporate too much of the book into too small a time frame. There is a good deal of fantastic material in the book, but there is simply too much to be done on screen. What seems to have happened is that the makes didn't exactly realize this and consequently tried to hold on to too many secondary characters and too many story lines. The result was less than satisfactory. I was entirely convinced that anyone who hadn't read the book before seeing the movie would have been completely lost.In short, I seriously pity Isabel Allende for this horribly botched movie which is entirely unrepresentative of the excellent book she wrote. Do not watch this movie. Read the book.
B24
But not much else. As a story, it is something of a docudrama -- part history and part love story. The historical part must be taken for granted, as the author maintains high credentials as a witness. The love story is just so-so, however -- predictable and depending for its attractiveness on a good deal of gratuitous nudity. We see here rather more of Antonio Banderas than is probably necessary. Ditto the Chilean army officer.The main weakness of the film is that it is not presented in Spanish with English subtitles. To have Spanish-speaking actors mouthing English is extremely distracting, and to my mind unforgivable in view of the locale and the facts of its production. Jennifer could surely have been taught to fake a little Español with some artful dubbing later on.Still, one has to appreciate the scenery and the score, played apparently by a full symphony orchestra somewhere in Bratislava or the like. As a travelogue it succeeds admirably, even if it is on the sunrise side of the Andes and not the other way round.
TxMike
In this movie a young (24) Jennifer Connelly plays a Spanish speaking lady, Irene, in Chile, working as a magazine reporter, during the time when the country was being ruled by a military dictatorship. A perpetual "state of emergency" has been declared, and opposition are hunted down, killed, and the bodies hidden. Irene has been engaged since they were children to her cousin, Gustavo. While they carry on erotically like young lovers anywhere, there does not appear to be the mystery and passion of "discovered" love. Along comes Irene's discovery, Francisco (Antonio Banderas, 34), trained as a Psychologist but now trying to get a legitimate job as a photographer. Irene hires him.Francisco and his family, which includes a priest, are out to expose the crimes of the military regime, and is able to get Irene involved in an investigation. Breaking out of her thus-far sheltered life, she is anxious to help get to the bottom of all this, while she is realizing that she doesn't love Gustavo.SPOILERS. As crimes are being exposed and it becomes known that Irene is involved, she is gunned down in the street, but manages to survive. Military is watching the hospital, but after she has shown some improvement she is sneaked out, she and Francisco manage to stay for 10 days at a spa in the mountains where she can gain strength, and they leave on horseback as the military show up looking for them. They eventually get to Spain, where they live for 15 years, and are able to return to Chile in 1989, after a democracy is restored.
Candyrica
The previous comment sounded to me like they weren't criticizing the movie. Sounded more like they were bashing the Country and the author...I found it was a good movie. I've seen better, but it's not at the bottom of my list, and neither is The House Of The Spirits. Of Love and Shadows is a book that explains in the background what was going on politically in Chile and it was a way to kind of get it out in the open - I don't know...create an awareness. I admit, it must be difficult to translate an amazing novel into a movie and have it come out the same. I find that Isabel Allende's books are absolutely fabulous!! She is a great story teller. And for this particular one, I also think you may need to have a bit more knowledge of what had happened in Chile to have a better understanding of what the story is about. The Movie - I enjoyed it...it deserves to be seen at least once, but...maybe..to get a better sense of what it's all about, it's best to read the book first! Maybe if this film was shot in Chile it would have been different using Chilean Actors that do an amazing job anyway. The movie may have been better. But I am glad that Antonio Banderas and Jennifer Connelly decided to be a part of this movie. Both are great actors that tried to give the movie feeling...
AD
