|
|
|
|
 |
The House of the Spirits
(1993)
Bille August's adaptation of Isabel Allende's acclaimed 1982 novel The House of the Spirits was largely derided by American critics, but fairly well received in other parts of the world. A big-budget international production, it was August's first film outside of Scandinavia, and although the picture looks remarkable, it doesn't play out equally smoothly. It has an ever-present aura of pompousness that the first-rate cast is only partly able to gloss over. August directs with great ambition: He wants to weave together the story's elements of multi-generational family saga, magical realism, and historical significance. Unfortunately, this task proves to be a bit too daunting for him to handle. Despite its epic proportions and sequences of powerful drama, there is constantly something amiss, whether it's the undercommunicated political context, the wavering Latin American link, or the gimmicky inclusion of Clara's psychic powers. And this is a shame, because the story, the characters and the performances all have a whiff of greatness to them. With its outstanding aging makeup, beautiful cinematography, and a couple of powerhouse performances (especially by Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close), the film does have the epic elements to stand out and make itself felt. The only thing missing is one of Clara's small magical nudges to fix the tonal offset.
Esteban Trueba to Clara
and Férula: Esteban Trueba to his
sister Férula while playing badminton: Esteban Trueba to Count
Jean de Satigny:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
