The House of the Spirits (1993)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Bille August

Writers:

Isabel Allende (novel)
Bille August (writer)

Release Date:

1 April 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Chile, second half of the 20th century. The poor Esteban marries Clara and they get a daughter, Blanca...

Plot Keywords:

Senator | Martial Law | Selective Mutism | Torture | Corporal Punishment

Awards:

11 wins

Cast

Meryl Streep	...	Clara del Valle Trueba
Glenn Close	...	Férula Trueba
Jeremy Irons	...	Esteban Trueba
Winona Ryder	...	Blanca Trueba
Antonio Banderas	...	Pedro Tercero García
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Nívea del Valle
Maria Conchita Alonso	...	Tránsito Soto
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Severo del Valle
Jan Niklas	...	Count Jean de Satigny
Sarita Choudhury	...	Pancha García
António Assunção	...	Man at Cattlemarket
Julie Balloo	...	Young Lady
Frank Baker	...	Intelligence Officer
João Cabral	...	Soldier
Miguel Guilherme	...	Soldier

Also Known As:

Åndernes hus (Denmark)
A Casa dos Espíritos (Portugal)
Das Geisterhaus (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, and for violence.

Runtime:

140 min | Germany:141 min | Spain:146 min

Country:

Portugal | Germany | Denmark | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Brazil:16 | Netherlands:16 | Iceland:16 | UK:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:R (Ontario) | USA:R | Finland:K-16 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Sweden:15 | Germany:12 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Alentejo, Portugal

Company:

Costa do Castelo Filmes

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Alba is eating KFC, but the KFC name/logo wasn't adopted until the 1990s (it was formerly Kentucky Fried Chicken), it's in a basket instead of a box, and the chain wasn't franchised in South America in the 1970s anyway.

Quotes:

Férula Trueba: I'm so sorry. It's just I'm not used to people hugging me or touching me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mavra mesanyhta: (#1.19)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

La Paloma

Excellent cast, photography, music, but........

I just do not get very inspired in this treatment of Isabel Allende's novel. The worst thing is that I cannot even identify exactly what it is that does not succeed in really drawing me into the story. Evidently the film is well made, beautiful filming, and the cast is really extraordinary, with some magnificent interpretations. The make-up department did excellent work on the aging process of the players. This is the second time I have seen this film, but the story's continuity did not get me really sympathising with and feeling for the characters. There is something missing: however, no way can either Meryl Streep or Jeremy Irons, among the other leading actors, be blamed for this. There is something abstract here which I cannot explain. It may be arguable that this film is better than `Missing' (1982) (qv), however `Missing' pulled me much more into the story.

Certainly, in no way should you pass up this film if you get a chance to see it: there are very good interpretations, at times even wondrous, combining with very intelligent photography and Hans Zimmer doing some of his best work.