Goya's Ghosts (2006)

Painter Francisco Goya faces a scandal involving his muse, who is labeled a heretic by a monk.

Director:

Milos Forman

Writers:

Milos Forman, Jean-Claude Carrière

Stars:

Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgård

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Javier Bardem	...	Lorenzo
Natalie Portman	...	Inés / Alicia
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Francisco Goya
Randy Quaid	...	King Carlos IV
José Luis Gómez	...	Tomás Bilbatúa
Michael Lonsdale	...	Inquisitor General
Blanca Portillo	...	Queen María Luisa
Mabel Rivera	...	María Isabel Bilbatúa
Unax Ugalde	...	Ángel Bilbatúa
Fernando Tielve	...	Álvaro Bilbatúa
David Calder	...	Monk 1
Frank Baker	...	Monk 2
Ramón Langa	...	Hooded Monk
Manuel de Blas	...	Pyre Monk
Andrés Lima	...	Confiscating Monk

Storyline

The painter Goya becomes involved with the Spanish Inquisition when his muse, Ines, is arrested by the church for heresy. Her father, Thomas, comes to him hoping that his connection with Brother Lorenzo, whom he is painting, can secure the release of his daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

painter | muse | heretic | painting | spanish inquisition | 

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Taglines:

Tell me what the truth is

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing images, some sexual content and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 2006 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Les fantômes de Goya

Filming Locations:

Monasterio de Veruela, Veruela, Vera de Moncayo, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$159,671 (USA) (20 July 2007)

Gross:

$1,000,045 (USA) (22 November 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Saul Zaentz Company, Kanzaman, Antena 3 Televisión

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Milos Forman cast Natalie Portman after noticing her likeness to the girl in Goya's painting "Milkmaid of Bordeaux".

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Goofs

When Goya unveils the unflattering portrait of the queen, she is deeply offended. Actually, queen Maria Louisa liked that portrait so much that she made Goya the first court painter.

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Quotes

[Goya is trying to see Inés]
Goya: I am painter to the king!
Asylum Director: So what, I have three Napoleon Bonapartes in here, and two of them are Arabs.

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Crazy Credits

The title of the film 'Goya's ghosts' is mentioned in the opening credits as if the ghosts are part of the cast: "... Stellan Skarsgard, Goya's ghosts and Randy Quaid"

User Reviews

Goya in the background

A film by Milos Forman is always an event. This will probably not remain as one of the best in his career, and was surrounded by a level of controversy, not the least among critics who received it very differently. Yet, it is certainly a film to watch.

The story actually does not have Goya (Stellan Skarsgård) in the center. It is rather the story of a corrupt morality policeman of the 18th century (Javier Bardem) imprisoning a young girl (Natalie Portman) on the unjust suspicion of practicing Judaism in secret. It is the story of a police state built on social injustice relying on pretended moral puritanism in order to save the system. This happens at the price of huge human suffering like the drama in the center of the story, and here is the painter as a witness, living the dilemma of becoming involved as a human or remaining a witness as an artist. We know what path Goya chose.

I was not unhappy neither with the acting, nor with the story line, although it is a little bit too melo-dramatic and too much prone to coincidences. Forman is not so much focused on the drama or better say melo-drama, or even in the historical detail, although he seems to be on familiar ground getting back to the period in 'Amadeus'. What he is busy with seems to be more re-creating some of Goya's paintings and prints and tracing back the origin of inspiration of these masterpieces. In a way the film can be read as justification of the choice Goya made in life.