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The Baby of Macon (1993)

Directed by:
Peter Greenaway
COUNTRY
UK/France/Germany/
Belgium/Netherlands

GENRE
Historical drama

NORWEGIAN TITLE
Barnet fra Macon

RUNNING TIME
122 minutes

Produced by:
Kees Kasander
Written by:
Peter Greenaway


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
The Daughter Julia Ormond
The Bishop’s Son Ralph Fiennes
The Bishop Philip Stone -
Cosimo Medici Jonathan Lacey -
The Father Confessor Don Henderson -
Mother Superior Ceila Gregory -

 

Review

This visual spectacle from Peter Greenaway descends into narrative disarray. The Baby of Macon is bizarre and violent. It's also speculative and surreal, but above all, it's a chaotic tale, and that undermines much of the film's potential. The Baby of Macon serves as a sequel in Greenaway's ongoing historical trilogy. The first film, Prosperos Books from 1991 was arguably a little more audience-friendly. The Baby of Macon, on the other hand, is so speculative that you're ultimately punished for engaging with the plot. The Baby of Macon boasts outstanding effects and costumes. It's also repellently gory, which of course is part of Greenaway's pack and parcel. So if the prospect of seeing a bull impale a man through the stomach or a mob hacking limbs and worse off a young boy does not deter you, then The Baby of Macon may hold some appeal.

Copyright © 04.10.1996 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang
(English version: © 10.02.2024 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang)