MilosForman Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The period setting, the high-art gloss, the fascination with historical bombast and the ghoulish depths people to which proud people can sink -- all of these are things Goya's Ghosts has in common with the rest of the Milos Forman filmography. What it's lacking is a confident narrative or, for that matter, a sturdy script skeleton which the director can lean on. In surer hands, what was intended as ambitious -- to put the great Spanish artist Francisco Goya in the film's title and in a prominent position in the film's opening act, but then to draw away from, and ultimately unmoor him from the story completely -- might have actually succeeded, but here it just comes across as odd and indicative of a serious lack of directorial focus. I won't be the one to say that the powers of 75 year-old Forman have decayed -- he's so unprolific that it's hard to see any kind of career-parabola, anyway -- but on the evidence of this film, he should probably make it a priority to finish out his career with the strongest possible writing collaborators.

Javier Bardem embodies one of Forman's favorite fool-archetypes here: the true believer who is double-blind in thinking that the system he loves loves him back and that his earnestness in upholding it will produce rewards down the road. Bardem plays Brother Lorenzo, a Catholic priest who argues passionately for the grisly torture of the Inquisition in the opening scene, as the other priests sit quietly and imbibe his passionate commitment to the cause instead of daring to debate any of his points. It's only later, when an unlikely turn of events sees him having dinner in the home of a man suspected of being a "Judiazier" that he's asked to give any kind of thoughtful defense to his beliefs. 'How could there be any value in a confession given under extreme physical torture?,' Brother Lorenzo is asked, to which he replies that God grants the innocent the ability to withstand the torture and not utter false statements, but allows the guilty to perjure themselves. A few minutes later, he's singing a completely different tune.

Here's one project you can probably put to bed for good -- the supposed biopic of poker legend Amarillo Slim, starring Nic Cage and directed by Milos Forman. I brought it up during a conversation with Forman at this week's Goya's Ghosts junket in New York, and he looked at me like I'd insulted his mother when I did. Forman said he never had any serious attachment to the project in the first place. "That's typical Hollywood," he said. "About three years ago somebody from Los Angeles called me if I'd be interested to make film about Amarillo Slim with Nicolas Cage. Amarillo Slim is interesting character, love Nicolas Cage as an actor ... I said 'Sure, I would be interested, but I'll tell you after you send me the script. It depends on the script.' So they put it in the press that I'm doing it. Till today, I haven't seen the script."

The chances of a big-budget Hollywood biopic happening are further reduced when you consider that in 2003, the notorious proposition gambler was, as Wikipedia puts it, "indicted on three charges of indecency with his 12-year-old granddaughter," and ended up copping a plea. Oscar voters tend to frown on that kind of thing, don't they? Another interesting tidbit from my conversation with Forman: he claims to have had absolutely no idea who Natalie Portman was before she came to his attention during the casting process of Goya's Ghosts. I'll be posting a full report from the junket as soon as I have time to type it up.

With only 2 months until Milos Forman's Goya's Ghosts is sent out into limited release stateside, a trailer has finally hit the Internet. The movie centers on Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgård) and his painting subject, Inés (Natalie Portman). After posing for the painter, she is picked up by the Spanish Inquisition under accusations that she's a heretic who practices Jewish rituals. She's tortured, confesses and is kept in the dungeons until Napoleon's army arrives and frees the Inquisition's victims. The pair are further tied together by Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem) who proves to be only a little brotherly, and more dastardly. And just to make the mix more interesting, there's also Randy Quaid as King Carlos IV.

Most of the previous buzz about the film didn't center on this being Forman's first feature since Man on the Moon, but that Portman had a nude torture scene. The trailer only briefly focuses on that, and instead fleshes out what looks to be a pretty interesting movie. There's a lot of attention places on Goya's art as much as Inés' plight. However, the trailer powers that be have really got to get a handle on when those cheesy voiceover voices are appropriate. In April, I shared the Bug trailer that was all sorts of goofy, and now Ghosts is a bit tarnished by the disembodied voice giving the run-down. With scenes of troubled painting, inquisition and torture, do we really need to hear things like "...a woman adored for her beauty" all deep and gravelly when Portman pops up on-screen? These voices have their place, but not for a period piece about one of Spain's most famous painters -- especially when it clashes with the accents on-screen.

While Natalie Portman undoubtedly has her share of admiring male fans, she's steered clear of much of the 'lusting' demographic in her career. It's actually pretty easy for a respected actress to do -- just avoid almost-nude pictorials for any of the men's magazines and you'll be on your way. Nevertheless, when Portman was in Closer, anxious buzz and hopeful eyes were expectantly waiting for glimpses of Amidala's nethers, only to get nothing. The scenes were cut, the footage reportedly destroyed (will it be uncovered one day as shocking, almost-lost footage?)

Then came Milos Forman's Goya's Ghosts. Last July, Cinematical shared rumors that Portman was once again removing her clothes for the upcoming film -- namely, for a torture scene. Now IESB has links to a few rough, troubling scenes and some images. (Obviously NSFW.) However, before you rush over there in anxious, Portman-nudity hunger, there's not much and it seems to be a body double -- not to mention the fact that it is a torture scene. The site has three clips. The first is the torture, which makes me feel pretty wimpy after a night of Wii playing, and then a prayer scene and a brief follow-up. If you're wondering what the hell it's about -- Ghosts revolves around the famous painter, Francisco Goya, whose muse (Portman) is deemed a heretic during the Inquisition. The film will be released in the U.S. this July.