Mad Love Review
By Frank Ochieng
Mad Love tells the sordid tale of Joan/Juana of Castile (Pilar López de Ayala), daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (the married monarchs who financed Christopher Columbus's boat ride to the New World in 1492). Juana ends up in a political marriage to Philip the Handsome (Daniele Liotti), the Archduke of Austria. Despite the arrangement, the couple manages to find a hidden mutual attraction. The result: six children. By this point, Juana is completely head-over-heels in love with Philip to the extent that it's obsessive. But Philip becomes noticeably indifferent toward his wife, dabbling in numerous adulterous affairs. Of course this adds to the increasingly insane jealously of Juana. An apparent emotional wreck, Philip's wife is due for a breakdown, and Philip looks to declare poor Juana legally insane and incarcerate her, thus giving him and his father a shot at the throne. But soon enough, Isabella dies, Philip dies, Ferdinand dies, and Juana gets shipped off to live in isolation before also dying, 40 years later.
Mad Love is an earnest yet misguided attempt for revered Spanish filmmaker Aranda to put his elaborate and detailed storytelling skills to use. There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to execute a fiery fable dedicated about his country's past. But unfortunately Aranda's well-intentioned showcase is too ponderous and convoluted and comes off as just a decorative dud. More often than not, the performances throughout this dressy, overproduced saga are passable, especially López de Alaya's juicy turn as the delusional damsel in distress. Consequently, there are not enough genuine complexities within the film's many stock characters to take anything in Mad Love to heart. The material is bogged down in period piece prattle that often comes off as distractingly tacky, though the set design and score are quite grand.
Ultimately, Mad Love is a long-winded and stagy session of romantic contrivances that never really gels like the shrewd feminist fairy tale it could have been. The madness of one fragile woman is nothing more than a missed opportunity in what amounts to an uninspired dose of meandering bravado.
Off with her pony tail!
Facts and Figures
Year: 2001
Run time: 93 mins
In Theaters: Friday 26th May 1995
Distributed by: A-Pix
Production compaines: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Reviews
Contactmusic.com: 2 / 5
IMDB: 5.2 / 10
Cast & Crew
Director: Vicente Aranda
Producer: Enrique Cerezo
Screenwriter: Vicente Aranda
Starring: Peter Lorre as Doctor Gogol, Frances Drake as Yvonne Orlac, Colin Clive as Stephen Orlac, Ted Healy as Reagan, the American Reporter, Sara Haden as Marie, Yvonne's Maid, Edward Brophy as Rollo the Knife Thrower, Henry Kolker as Prefect Rosset, Keye Luke as Dr. Wong, Gogol's Assistant, May Beatty as Françoise, Gogol's Housekeeper
Also starring: Pilar Lopez de Ayala, Daniele Liotti, Rosana Pastor, Giuliano Gemma, Roberto Alvarez, Eloy Azorin, Guillermo Toledo, Enrique Cerezo, Vicente Aranda